#King is his support and motivation and helper | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

popatochisssp · 3 years

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if/when you get the energy/time to- im really curious; what kinda fuzzy friends do the newer skeles have? does pitch have a seeing eye-dog version of princess? or does ell and/or nemo have a fuzzy buddy to help with their anxiety or anything similar or in-between? spare fuzzy friend hcs for the poor, ma'am????

Well, you asked for it!

Ash (Undergloom Sans): A cat named Annie (Ragdoll), adopted as an emotional support buddy! She picked him, really, just ambling right on up to him, and it was love at first flop-over-his feet. Having a little sweetheart like her to take care of has really helped to pull Ash out of the doldrums and he loves her a lot. She’s a big-time cuddlebug, just like he is, and they definitely spend a ton of time napping together, everywhere and anywhere.

Annie’s Quirks: Extra chunky (master of the ‘I haven’t been fed yet 🥺’ con), stockpiles socks and undies beneath the bed, shameless catnip junkie

Yrus (Undergloom Papyrus): He feels like he’s not as active as he should be, lots of time spent indoors doing academic things, when there’s a whole beautiful world out there that he should be getting out to see at least sometimes... He has the idea that maybe an animal companion would be the right motivation to get up and out at least a couple times a day, and Cannoli (Pembroke Welsh Corgi) is the solution to the problem! They click pretty much immediately and are just very well-suited to each other, especially as exercise partners.

Cannoli’s Quirks: Loves (short) walks, rests his head on any feet that stay still long enough, must sleep in the same bed as the people and will hop/bark/cry if he can’t get up there himself

Brick (Horrorfell Sans):He doesn’t know too much of the story himself, he’s sure he was told in more detail but probably forgot. All he remembers is, a friend of a friend had a dog who had an accident...or maybe it got sick? Either way, it went deaf, and the dog was too big and unwieldy for them to try to retrain themselves. But they had a friend who was HoH, and that friend was active in the community with lots of other signing and HoH folks and could ask around about someone who might be up for the challenge of having and training a real big dog that couldn’t hear a word you said to it. That’s how Brick heard about it, anyway, and he’s not deaf but he’s big, and he figures he probably knows at least enough sign by now to train a dog. And that’s how Tiny (English Mastiff) comes to stay at his place. They clumsily work on understanding each other, it’s definitely a Process, but there’s plenty of fondness there to make any difficulty worth the trouble.

Tiny’s Quirks: Bit of a digging problem, gets very excited about balloons, likes to sit near people and lean his entire weight into them

King (Horrorfell Papyrus): This one may look familiar, but it’s fate-- Doomfanger (Persian) belongs with him and could find her way to him in any universe. ...But King was a little later getting to the Surface, and wasn’t there to pick her up when she was freshly on the streets. She spent awhile longer being an alleycat, a few years of living the rough life, and one day when she’s not quite fast enough to scurry out of the way of an oncoming car, it probably would’ve been the end for her... if not for the kind Samaritan skeleton who was just passing by that scooped her up off the pavement and brought her to a vet. King tried very hard not to get attached to her, especially when it was still looking like she wouldn’t make it, but he kept moving the goalpost of when he’d let himself care about her. ‘IF IT LIVES UNTIL MORNING,’ ‘IF IT MAKES IT TO THE VET,’ ‘IF SHE SURVIVES HER SURGERY,’ ‘IF--’ and then she looks at him, with her goofy drugged up face, freshly missing the foot of her back paw so that they even match now, and... And just like that, Doomfanger has a home and a devoted cat-dad owner and anything else she could possibly need.

Doomfanger’s Quirks: Likes to be raked, makes an incredible fuss when shut out of any room for any reason, very spooked by loud noises and immediately runs and hides under daddy’s bed

Merc (Horrorswap Sans): He wanted a pet, especially when things were still a little strained with his brother and the nature of his...condition...made it difficult to make friends. He was lonely and a little pal would be very welcome in his home, but he’d also really hate to curse a furry friend with the ever-present threat of being dripped on and getting nasty bone-goop stuck in their fur... Ella (Sphynx) is the workaround to this unusual problem and makes herself right at home with Merc, happy to love on him whether he’s solid or sticky.

Ella’s Quirks: Has an extensive collection of sweaters that she adores (will sit by her dresser and meow until she is clothed), great sense for emotions and tends to appear whenever she’s needed, transfixed by mirrors

Ell (Horrorswap Papyrus): He didn’t choose Ripley (Maine Coon), Ripley... well, he’s not even sure Ripley chose him. He definitely chose Ella, because that pretty little sweater-wearing vixen in the window is what drove him to bust into Ell and Merc’s house and start sauntering around like he owned the place. Ripley (named before they realized he was a boy-cat) was definitely feral, with a notched ear and a missing eye, but he just keeps coming around, breaking and entering, cuddling with Ella and sharing her food, and when he one day hops into Ell’s lap and curls his big fluffy body up there... Ell makes the (possibly bad) decision to just shut the doors and windows on this mean, fat bastard and make him commit to the self-domestication he’d started. Ripley’s fickle, anti-social, and nine times out of ten mean as hell, but despite it all, Ell’s attached to the fucker. Doesn’t stop him from talking mad shit about his demon-cat to anyone who’ll listen, but y’know, there’s a weird sort of love there, between them both.

Ripley’s Quirks: Hates other cats and people, with Ell and Ella as the only exceptions (Ell sometimes, Ella always), does truly heinous things to birds and rodents and even bugs if the opportunity presents itself, an escape artist who is not to be trusted around doors or windows

Pitch (Horrorswapfell Sans): Ms. Sandy Peaches (Golden Retriever) is a service dog, trained to assist people with visual impairments in a variety of tasks. Pitch, who’d long been mulling over the idea of getting one such dog, eventually follows through, and as soon as he hears her name, he’s decided-- Sandy Peaches is the one for him! He’s been blind awhile by the time he gets her and generally knows his way around things, but she’s very helpful in his day-to-day and some of the things that were moderately inconvenient to get through before are only mildly inconvenient now, and her value as a helper and a companion is much appreciated.

Sandy’s Quirks: Gets excited when it’s time to put her vest on and go work, thinks the appropriate amount of brushing time is probably about three hours, loves to go swimming

Nemo (Horrorswapfell Papyrus): He found Dizzy (American Shorthair) after an accidental click led him to a local shelter’s Instagram, where they had a video of her playing and a few hashtags that explained her condition. He learned a lot about cerebellar hypoplasia, aka ‘wobbly cat syndrome,’ and when he eventually made it back to her video and watched it again... it was too late, he was already half in love with her. He contacts the shelter and after a couple weeks making arrangements, purchasing necessities, and wobbly-cat-proofing the house, he braves the outdoors to go get her and bring her home. She’s probably 100% his baby within the first hour and he loves being able to take care of her and help a kitty that not everybody would have the time or dedication to take in. The love is very much mutual and Dizzy’s tail does the ‘omg it’s you, I love you!’ tail-quiver whenever she sees him and trots on over.

Dizzy’s Quirks: Sixth sense for when there’s clean laundry to be laid on, likes to hold extended warbling and yowling conversations with people, chews on anything that crinkles (keep plastic wrappers out of reach!)

Sunny (Gastertale Sans): As soon as he knew he wanted a dog, he knew he wanted to pick up one of the less adoptable ones. Skipper (Beagle mutt) was certainly that, with only two legs--one in front and one in back. Sunny had a play session with the little guy and admired his energy and how enthusiastically he played, like his missing legs didn’t even phase him. Whatever happened in Skipper’s past, he’s not letting it be his problem now, and needless to say, he’s adopted and taken home in pretty short order. No holds barred fetch and spontaneous frolicking in open fields are a great bonding activity for these two, probably a match made in heaven.

Skipper’s Quirks: Tennis ball fiend (literally can never have enough), chews on unattended shoes, loves to sing (read: howl) along to music

Aster (Gastertale Papyrus): He wanted a guard dog, some big intimidating-looking thing that would look really, really cool guard the house. He finds Ace (Doberman/Great Dane), unfortunately with his ears already cropped (Aster wouldn’t have chosen the procedure himself), but otherwise a very handsome fellow and still definitely in need of love and a home, both of which Aster was willing and able to provide. He’s attentive with all the care and training his new pup needs, and when Ace grows up just as huge as predicted, looking like a cross between a panther and a hellhound, he’s become an extremely well-mannered and obedient dog, full to the tips of his pointy ears with love for Aster.

Ace’s Quirks: King of naps, the worst nightmare of any strangers at the door (but very affectionate and loving once they’re in!), will tell you if you’ve stopped petting him too soon, boofing and trying to put your hand back to make you resume

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lenniharrisonsims · 3 years

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One-Year Anniversary

Part III

Glimmerbrooke, part II- Imperial Palace

Her Imperial Majesty, Tsarina Ekaterina Olga Ivanov

Full Name: Ekaterina Olga Ivanov

Meaning: Ekaterina, a version of Katherine, means “pure” and is her mother, Nadia’s, middle name, and Olga means “Holy” and is the name of her paternal grandmother, HIM Dowager Tsarina Olga Ivanov, meaning our great Empress is named after two powerful and gracious Tsarinas.

Nickname(s): Kat, Kitty

Birthday: January 13th

Zodiac Sign: Capricorn

Birth Stone: Garnet

Hobbies/ Interests/ Favorites: piano, and music in general, the arts, environmental sustainability

Goals/ Motivations: to create a greener and longer lasting Empire for her children and the other children in the Empire, who are the future of our world.

Fun Fact: During her short reign as Queen of Willow Creek at the beginning of her marriage, HIM actually began work on a similar Green Initiative to her Economic Impact Initiative, that only recently was finished and passed through the Willow Creek Parliament this year!

His Imperial Highness, Prince-Consort Matthew Richard Norton

Full Name: Matthew Richard Norton

Meaning: Matthew means “gift of god” and is a traditional name for royal boys in Willow Creek, though it doesn’t come from any particular member, and Richard, meaning “brave ruler” comes from HIHs late father, King Richard Norton of Willow Creek

Nickname(s): Matt, Matty

Birthday: October 27th

Zodiac Sign: Scorpio

Birth Stone: Opal

Hobbies/ Interests/ Favorites: Classical literature, especially Shakespeare, soccer, fishing

Goals/ Motivations: To support Kat in any way he can as her partner and the father of her children, to make public health easier to access for every citizen of the Empire, starting by overhauling the insurance system

Fun Fact: HIH is known as the family chef- he loves to cook for his family, and spends most of his free time with the palace chefs in the kitchen, helping make meals or experimenting with new recipes.

Her Imperial Highness, Crown Princess Ophelia Nadia Ivanov

Full Name: Ophelia Nadia Ivanov

Meaning: Ophelia literally means “helper” however, HIHs name is inspired by the character from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, as Prince Matthew is a big fan of classical literature, and Nadia means “hope” and comes from HIHs maternal grandmother, HIM Dowager Tsarina Nadia Ivanov

Nickname(s): O

Birthday: May 4th

Zodiac Sign: Taurus

Birth Stone: Emerald

Hobbies/ Interests/ Favorites: polo, tennis, swimming, sports in general, equestrian activites- horse riding, dressage, animal care

Goals/ Motivations: graduating from Britechester University, winning an international horse race

Fun Fact: Ever since her mother’s coronation and the family’s move to the Imperial Palace in Glimmerbrooke, HIH still spends all of her weekends in Britechester at Darkwing House with her “favorite uncle,” Prince Ygor where she hangs out with her old childhood friends and gets away from the hectic life of Imperial Rule.

Her Imperial Highness, Princess Rosalind Sophia Ivanov

Full Name: Rosalind Sophia Ivanov

Meaning: Rosalind means “pretty rose” literally, but was inspired by the character from Shakespeare’s As You Like It, however Sophia, which means “wisdom,” comes from HIHs paternal grandmother, the late Queen Mother Sophia Norton

Nickname(s): Rosie, Rose

Birthday: May 28th

Zodiac Sign: Gemini

Birth Stone: Emerald

Hobbies/ Interests/ Favorites: history, archeology, anthropology, hiking

Goals/ Motivations: be an active partner in a big, important archeological dig, foster an educational environment for preserving the history of the Empire

Fun Fact: Rosalind’s enthusiasm for archeology stems from the Imperial Family’s state visit to Selvadorada and a tour of the Alam Museum of Archeology, and has since spent countless hours in the Palace’s library reading about the Empire’s history and anthroplogy.

His Imperial Highness, Prince Benedict Richard Ivanov

Full Name: Benedict Richard Ivanov

Meaning: Benedict means “blessed,” and, like HIHs other siblings, was inspired by the character from Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, and Richard, meaning “brave ruler,” is HIH Prince Matthew’s middle name, as well as the first name of Benedict’s paternal grandfather, the late King Richard Norton.

Nickname(s): Benny, Ben

Birthday: July 20th

Zodiac Sign: Cancer

Birth Stone: Ruby

Hobbies/ Interests/ Favorites: space, astronomy, technology

Goals/ Motivations: N/A

Fun Fact: Benedict is a big movie fan, especially movies about space and time travel, and can often be found during his downtime, watching movies in his room, and frequently tries to get members of his family to join him. HIM Dowager Tsarina Nadia has taken up the habit of asking him for a “space fact” when she sees him, to which he happily obliges.

#ivanov legacy #ts4 #ts4 legacy #ts4 simblr #portraits #biography #imperial palace #tsarina ekaterina #prince matthew

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wezzaner · 5 years

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Evie’s and Doug’s relationship develops the best, Pt. 3.2: The Movie

I feel like I keep postponing this. I find it hard to analyze a movie where the only consistency shown is a birthday cake. I love it, but like, I kinda strongly dislike it as well. Anyway…

For part 3.2 to make more sense to you, check out the previous parts here:

Pt.1: https://wezzaner.tumblr.com/post/186775140063/evies-and-dougs-relationship-develops-the-best

Pt.2: https://wezzaner.tumblr.com/post/186827407103/evies-and-dougs-relationship-develops-the-best

Pt.3.1: https://wezzaner.tumblr.com/post/186971661403/evies-and-dougs-relationship-develops-the-best

Now that this is out of the way, fair warning, this is going to be long...

As noticed in pt. 2, there was no character analysis for Evie and Doug. That is because in my timeline (that I will fight to the death to prove), it’s been only 3-4 months between D2 and D3, so I thought I can do it in one go. Let’s see how Evie and Doug changed, yeah?

Evie:

Wow. Talk about character development done absolutely right. I have been silently observing the fandom for four years and I have yet to come across anyone who even slightly dislikes Evie. A huge part of that is attributed to Sofia Carson, I have no doubt about that. This woman will go places.

As far as development, Evie was such a complex character from the start. Far more complex than any of the other VKs, not including Carlos whose abuse history remained strictly in the books and was only hinted at in the movies in two lines across the board. The Evie we got in D2 and D3 came a long way from D1 Evie.

Evie had a reputation of being a complete vain flirt, a selfish heart-breaker who wouldn’t hesitate to use her looks to get what she wanted. Somehow, she remains sort of shy, reserved and not always speaking her mind. That’s probably due to her, Jay and Carlos being accustomed to blindly follow Mal.

She was brought up entitled by her mother, to marry a prince for the social status and riches. She was bred to be a perfect trophy wife, the fairest of them all, with the concept of beauty trumps personality and smarts embedded deep into her brain.

But somehow, somehow, she ends up being a well-mannered, smart girl who is practically good at everything except being true to herself. She, along with Carlos, end up being the sensitive, level-headed ones, not the ones to lash out unless super necessary and probably regarded as the easiest VKs to be around. They’re also the two mature ones, no matter what Mal likes to think.

Throughout the first movie, Evie shows her good heart, her fashion and style and finally, her longing to be an Auradon girl. Her longing to get away from the isle, explore who she is and who she really wants to be.

For Evie, Doug wasn’t why she chose good. And I love that. Doug standing up to her marked the time she started being hesitant about the plan to steal the wand and his passivity during the events of family day reignited her determination. He wasn’t her purpose; he wasn’t her motive, but he was a catalyst.

Her supporter and helper. A believer.

Next time we saw Evie, she had evolved so much already in so little time. She was more comfortable with who she became, more in tune. She was shown to be outspoken, confident, calm and collected. She was very open and had chemistry with everyone she interacted with. Also, following Mal blindly became a thing of the past, Evie down right scolded her at some point.

On the isle, she stepped into the role of the leader effortlessly, I personally always thought that Jay would be the second in command. She was dominant, calm under pressure and fluidly returned to be a support to Mal once she was found. And she was content being s support. Her actions spoke louder than any words, portraying her as the fiercely loyal sister anyone would dream to have. Loyal to the point where she would give up her life in Auradon, complete with a boyfriend and a booming business.

Let’s not mistake her loyalty to Mal, someone she regards as family, to her being indifferent to Doug. Family comes first, Evie’s future family will be lucky to have her. Speaking of Doug, Evie knows the guy, their slow and steady relationship proves to be suitable for them. She oh-so-easily defused his frantic confrontation, caused by a problem that was arguably created by her family. By Mal having an identity crisis and fleeing, she unknowingly forced the rest to go after her. Then Carlos and Jay, people who Doug became friends with, lied straight to his face.

Her good heart was once again evident in her being inspired by Dizzy and proposing the idea of bringing more VKs from the isle.

It is worth noting that she also gave up practicing magic (her mother practiced black magic, she had powers) and donated her magic mirror to the museum.

Finally, in the third movie, Evie is basically the ultimate good. A selfless protector in every sense of the word. She kept asking Carlos if he was okay, brought the Smee kid back inside the limo during Hades’s “attack” and constantly had Celia protectively behind her.

The one time she wasn’t protective of someone, she was stepping up into the leader’s shoe when Uma and Mal kept going at each other during the confrontation with the suits of armor. And when she casually directed everyone on what to do when Mal was, briefly, an old hag.

She was the moderator, trying to constantly rally everyone together, breaking up fights and getting everyone to get along. She was successful too, with her ice breaker activity. You can see Hary starting to respond, she got through to the unhinged maniac. And later, Gil carried on her game with Jay, she got through to him as well.

And of course, Evie still had the VKs on the isle on the forefront of her mind. They were still priority, the incident with Hades never swayed her.

The most prominent trait of Evie that is glaringly obvious through D2 and D3 is her selflessness. A direct opposite to her in D1. A trait she obviously picked up from Doug, he inspired her.

Now Doug:

Doug has come a long way as well, though it’s very subtle. He started out as an insecure, somewhat shy kid. He is a son to a sidekick, and he was embracing that and had no problem with it. He was friends with practically everyone, closest to Ben though. However, being friends with royals and heroes had added tremendously to his insecurities, making him see himself as less.

But among all the AKs, Doug always came off as the most welcoming and least reluctant when dealing with the VKs. He was selfless, going out of his way to stand up for Evie with no ulterior motive, since he had already somewhat been rejected by her at that point.

In the second movie, Doug was even more comfortable around the VKs. He became friends with all of them now and trusted them. That was why he was hurt and sent into a frenzy when Jay and Carlos lied to him. He considered them friends. His insecurities came rushing back, seeing himself as not worthy of Evie and that was why he thought she might be seeing someone else. He also saw himself as unworthy of the friendship with Jay and Carlos, also Mal with association, when they lied straight to his face.

In D3, Doug’s insecurities were almost gone at that point. He became close to Jay, Carlos, Jane, Mal and even closer to Ben. He was protective of Jane when Auradonians freaked out during Hades’s incident. He was so laid back in almost all of the scenes.

When he woke up from the sleeping spell, he was conversing with Gil, a new VK he just met. The only possible background information Doug has on Gil was that Gil kidnapped Ben, the King Ben, and fought the core four on the isle. And there he was just standing casually engrossed in conversation with him. Also, towards the end, he was hanging out with Evie, Uma and Harry. And was later dancing with Uma and Harry as well, no Evie in sight.

That leads me to believe that Doug is one of the most accepting people in the Descendants franchise, along with Lonnie. And somewhat Ben, he was apprehensive when he saw Gil and Harry but for good reason. That is why I will be using this part of my analysis to not only go over all the Doug/Evie relationship moments, but will leave you with some of his platonic interactions as well.

Moving on, scenes breakdown:

The first Evie and Doug interaction happens off-screen. We only get a snippet of it behind the scenes, where we see Evie holding onto Doug and leading the band to the front of the welcoming committee. We never know what they are talking about, only one sentence of the conversation.

Again, what Evie says actually plays well into their relationship, its history and dynamic. Doug had her back since the moment they met. As I said, he is her supporter, he believes in her. I had hoped this would be included in the behind the scenes, deleted scenes or even the bloopers videos but we never got it.

Then they are standing with the crowd, waiting for Ben and Mal to show up. Doug, being Ben’s best best friend and future best man, plays a rearranged version of the song Ben sang to Mal to declare his love for her. Best friend goals, everybody.

Also, squad goals! Look at that support!

After the music died and as Ben proposes, Evie is clearly seen standing with her hands interlocking over Doug’s shoulder, leaning into him as they await Mal’s response.

They separate as the squad congratulate each other. And Doug and Carlos hug twice, solidifying themselves in my mind as very close friends and marking the first sign of Doug’s character progress. Also, vindication to my theory that the reason for D2’s confrontation was more than just Evie’s disappearance and that it was fueled by Carlos and Jay lying to him. He’s more than just Evie’s boyfriend or an acquaintance to them, he’s a very close friend now.

Evie’s and Doug’s attention goes back to the newly engaged couple as they stare, dare I say longingly, at what Mal and Ben have together and where they are now. And this conversation takes place.

Doug starts the conversation with a little joking jab at his and Evie’s own relationship. You can see how Evie picked up on his subtle comparison and how eager she is to blurt the words, the words almost flying out of her mouth, like she can’t hold them in anymore.

Now Doug’s response… There are a lot of ways to interpret that. My personal favorite is that Doug understood what she was trying to say. Here’s how: I have already established time and time again that of all the couples in the franchise, Evie and Doug have more reasons to take things slow than anyone else. For a brief recap, they both come from the same story, meaning that their parents were direct enemies. His father and uncles killed her mother. Add to that Evie being a past flirt and a heart breaker, Doug’s personal insecurities and the fact that Evie didn’t know what love is until she made it to Auradon and boom, you’re there.

Knowing Doug’s selfless and caring nature, I’m willing to bet money he had already come to terms with his feelings for Evie a while ago, perhaps even during the first movie. But knowing her history, their history, he chose to be patient and considerate. He chose to hold his tongue and not say anything, so he wouldn’t be pressuring Evie into anything she wasn’t ready for.

To me, his hopeful look as he waits for Evie to finish her words and then his “me too” afterwards is him subtly telling her that he loves her as well. He read into what she tried to say and saw her history and insecurities coming back and chose again to not pressure her, but to try to subtly reassure her.

They share a look, a nod and they both look away.

It just wasn’t their time yet.

Their brief awkward moment gets cut short when Ben and Mal join the group. Mal runs to her sister and Ben flies towards his bachelor party group, stating the obvious because he is a cinnamon roll and gets swamped into a group hug by all his best friends.

As Mal steps up to her future parents in law, Doug and Jay can be seen hugging in the background. Also bonus Ben/Evie on the right, they lock hands briefly as they pass by each other. Because why not, their friendship in D2 was one of the moments in the franchise.

Further proving that Doug’s a big part of the group, he joins in as they mock Mal and her soon to be acquired status. He could be seen further left throughout the scene. Jane is there too; behind Carlos and she also joins in the shenanigans.

Originally, I was planning to end the proposal scene with this gif of Evie turning around to wave at her boyfriend before leaving.

But then I found this.

This is during the Hades incident when Fairy God Mother is trying to maintain order and failing miserably. Doug is obviously very protective of Jane, keeping her close during the chaos. He only leaves her when he hands her over to one of the guards, who is sure to keep her safe, then he turns around and tries to direct the herd of panicking people. That was very protective and sweet of him, and also not the only moment he shares with Jane.

After that, Doug is only mentioned once until they’re back at Evie’s starter castle. The one Doug helped her find and purchase.

Irrelevant but like, poor Jay!

Anyway, next time we see Doug, it’s way after the halfway mark of the movie. And he’s sound asleep. Which brings up the question, what was Doug doing in Evie’s place anyway? I highly doubt that Doug is all moved in, that goes against his and Evie’s… mental agreement to take things slow. My educated assumption would be that Doug went to Evie’s starter castle so they could all go together to Jane’s birthday party, found them all suiting up to go to the isle and was asked to stay with Dizzy and the Smee twins. That would fit with Evie’s protective nature, which pushes her into asking her trusted and responsible boyfriend to take care of the VKs she’d be leaving behind.

So, poor Doug is sound asleep and there are two ways to wake him up. Either ending Audrey’s reign of terror or… a true love’s kiss. Before breaking down the scene, let’s take a minute to appreciate how it all comes back full circle to the two of them. Queen Grimhilde spelled Snow White and she had to be woken up by a true love’s kiss and now, Audrey spelled Doug and Evie has to wake him up with a true love’s kiss. Also, in true Descendants tradition, the gender role reversal is not lost on me. Another flip of the fairy tales, if you will.

I have noticed a few people going on about how Audrey is cursing everyone to sleep and, meanwhile, Evie is wasting time singing to a sleeping body. Well… She had time to kill.

They had two hours to search Auradon Prep and head back to Evie’s place. Not sure how long it took for Evie and Mal to search the school while Uma was going through Audrey’s Diary, but I am assuming not too long? I mean, chronologically, Evie was serenading cursed-Doug before (or during) the guys actually encountering Ben. So yeah, she had time.

Now onto the actual scene:

For starters, Evie loses her wits. For a minute, she loses her mature, smart personality and is reduced to the teenager she actually is. She is completely clueless, momentarily forgetting the fact that a sleeping spell has been cast all over Auradon and attempts to shake him awake.

It takes Uma’s snark pointing out that he’s spelled to bring her back to reality, and Mal has to defend Evie, letting Uma know she’s emotionally involved, and that her sense of judgement is currently kind of compromised. Now, considering how many times Evie was in situations where she showed brilliant emotional intelligence, it goes to show how deep her feelings are for Doug. During family day, during the coronation, leading the crew into the isle pre-running into Mal, when Ben was king-napped, the confrontation at Uma’s ship, cotillion, old hag Mal, the bikes being taken and when the suites of armors ganged up on the VKs, Evie never lost her cool. But when it came to him, she just lost it.

Uma says that Evie should be able to wake him up and you could see Evie slowly registering what she means. Her worry about her boyfriend’s current situation is even more accentuated with the worry that she now has to test their love. She has to face the one thing she has been actively dodging for months. Her reaction has Uma spelling out what Evie has to do for her, true love’s kiss.

And that’s when Evie admits that she and Doug have yet to say their “I love you”s, sending Uma rolling her eyes. And Mal in the back smirks and raises an eyebrow slightly at Uma’s back as if to say “welcome to my world”, a hint that this is not the first time Mal has been involved in a conversation with Evie about her feelings for Doug and her postponing the inevitable. Which is something Mal did before for he own set of reasons and regretted, she didn’t want Evie to make the same mistake. She almost lost Ben then, she didn’t want that for Evie. That explains her later frustration throughout the music number.

Mal almost looks smug, like yeah, Evie will have to do it now!

Then the song… there’s no doubt that almost every lyric is perfect for the couple, their relationship dynamic and their personalities as well. It goes back and forth between Evie reassuring herself and her going on about how good Doug is for her. And Mal’s and Uma’s reactions to Evie unfolding is indeed one of the best things that has happened in this movie. Actually, in all three movies.

Don't freak out, it's okay 'Cause true love can save the day And I think we feel the same But I don't know

Evie starts off by trying to reassure herself that she will be able to wake him up with a true love’s kiss, knowing that deep down, below all the uncertainties she’s feeling because of their history, she knows she loves Doug and that he loves her back. Unfortunately, her nervousness gets the best of her and she reluctantly starts stalling. However, her stalling technique is actually helping because she basically lives through their entire relationship, trying to prove to herself that Doug really does love her as well. And her nervousness is 100% valid because Doug isn’t Evie’s family like Mal, Carlos and Jay are, he isn’t a member of her inner circle, he can choose to leave at any point. It’s not the same as when Evie told Mal that she loves her or her constantly dotting over Carlos’s wellbeing. This is different for Evie.

When we met, it was sweet He was oh-so into me Seems like things are meant to be But I don't know

Like I said, Evie is reliving her relationship, especially the parts that had her falling for him, slowly but surely, starting with their first meeting. Doug was awe-struck by her beauty that he was left speechless for a second before gathering his wits to nervously stutter through the classes the VKs were signed into before their arrival. Again, the role reversal is evident. Doug started out as the nervous one and Evie has always oozed confidence, she’s not the kind to lose her cool but now things are different and she’s the one freaking out. Again, she tries to reassure herself that they are meant to be.

Mal’s and Uma’s reactions to this verse are very appropriate. Mal approaches first, her eagerness to see Evie finally admit what they both knew all along evident all over her face. She’s excited for her best friend, who is finally admitting her feelings, and perhaps finally fully recovering from what the Evil Queen used to drill into her head. All the talk about having to marry a prince, about Snow White and the Dwarves being enemies, about having to be a royal and having a castle, about how she looks and how she could always be better. Mal sees Evie’s love declaration for Doug as her recovery journey ending.

Uma is whole different story, approaching a second late but faster. Uma is intrigued and her interest is peaking. That’s simply because this is the first time Uma sees anyone so in love and gushing over their significant other. During D2, Mal’s true love speech had more to do with her insecurities and fear regarding Ben and the pressures of being the King’s girlfriend… Auradon-washing (is that making any sense?) her, acknowledging that Ben knows her and loves her for who she is. But there’s Evie singing about how Doug is good for her and she barely questions her love for him during the song. Considering that dating on the isle is unheard of, let alone people being in love. She’s curious to hear the story behind Evie’s change to who she is, a person she envied for being selected for the Auradon program instead of her. Perhaps she is even thinking of the possibilities and opportunities Auradon will open to her and the other VKs once they’re freed. Hope of being safe enough to be in love like Evie is, of being self-made like Evie, of owning a home like Evie’s and being loved like Evie is.

I might even go as far as say, she prefers having Evie’s worries about being loved and in love to her own worries about surviving the day.

Does he love me? Or does he love me not? Do I love him? And is it strong enough?

It’s worth nothing that Evie questions Doug’s feelings for her countless times throughout the song. But she only questions her own twice, this being the first one. The other is also in the pre-chorus. And it’s not about her love for him as much as it is about the strength of that love.

One kiss, one kiss It all comes down to this One kiss, one kiss Ohh

Focusing once again on Mal and Uma, Mal is evidently more invested in the whole deal while Uma is starting to lose interest. That is still true to who they are, because Mal has experienced this situation before while Uma has not. Mal wants Evie to have her own proof that she’s loved and that she’s worthy, like she had with Ben in D2. And while Uma wants to feel what Evie is feeling, she’s not as emotionally forward as Evie is. She doesn’t like to be seen as sensitive, or compassionate, or vulnerable or in love.

One kiss, one kiss This moment could be it I, I, I wanna know So here I go

Again, Mal’s too eager and she can’t really hide it when Evie tries to gather courage to attempt to kiss Doug the first time. And Uma’s interest is renewed again, her face lighting up like a kid swimming in gifts on Christmas.

As Evie avoids facing her demons the first time, Mal is frustrated while Uma is downright disbelieving. Again, playing well into their characters. Mal being Evie’s ear to vent to is frustrated that Evie deflects the opportunity to finally make sure of her feelings for Doug and his for her. While Uma, a very confrontational person by nature, is confused over Evie stalling. She wants to get this over with, like she always does.

Keep it cool, keep it calm Think he's loved me all along But maybe I got it wrong So I don't know

Again, Evie is reassuring herself that Doug has loved her from the start. But again, true to her character’s conflict with the idea of love, she keeps doubting her own words.

Then in the next lines she goes on how supportive he has been to her since they met. Her doubts shine through in this verse when she makes it known that it’s all about how she doesn’t think she deserves him.

He's so good, got my back But maybe I'm just too bad Could we be a perfect match? Now, I don't know

Mal’s and Uma’s reactions to this part is one of my favorites. Mal is ecstatic that Evie found someone who loves her so much and has her back so blindly. Uma’s reaction is more controlled and more subtle, it is recognition. She sees it now, why Evie loves Doug, how Doug shows he’s in love with Evie, Evie’s own insecurities and why Mal supports the couple whole heartedly. She’s starting to get it. Maybe even support it.

Does he love me? Or does he love me not? Do I love him? And is it strong enough?

The second time Evie questions Doug’s love for her. And that’s it.

One kiss, one kiss It all comes down to this One kiss, one kiss Ohh One kiss, one kiss This moment could be it I, I, I wanna know So here I go

Yeah, here I go

Finally, Mal and Uma are about done. They frustratingly encourage Evie to go for it already, neither of them is exactly known for patience. They are so impatient that Evie is still taking her sweet sweet time and leave. I’ll also go as far as say that Mal and Uma bonded over Evie’s love trouble more than they have bonded in the entire movie so far.

I feel my heartbeat beating saying, "It's gonna work" But if I'm dream-dream-dreaming, this is gonna hurt Either I will or I won't What if I do and he don't? Is he my Romeo? Oh, there's only one, one way to really know

Up until the line about Doug being Evie’s Romeo, we were good. More than good, actually. Evie is hyping herself up, following her gut feeling while still acknowledging that this would hurt like hell if it doesn’t work out. Which is another sign she’s sure of her own feelings and questioning Doug’s, playing well into her character flaws and self-consciousness.

But that Romeo line…

Here’s the thing, I am legit torn when it comes to that line. The only reason they could have used Romeo as an example, would be the family feud. You know, Montague vs. Capulet and Evil Queen vs. Snow White and the dwarves. Other than this little call-back, this line makes zero sense, the parallels stop there.

Let’s clear this up, if you ever hear Romeo and Juliet mentioned in a positive, happy light, know that whoever wrote the song, script or whatever it is, is not… fully aware… of the story. Romeo and Juliet were not a love story, it was never meant to be. Their love at first sight wasn’t even love, it was lust. They were both seeking escapism, Romeo was trying to get over a woman (Rosaline) who didn’t love him back, and Juliet, who is 14, was trying to avoid marrying this guy (Paris) who her parents where preparing her for, pretty much. To say that they fell in love at the first sight is not right, it was lusting after each other at best.

And that’s not even considering the tragic ending of the story. So, Romeo and Juliet were a tragedy start to end.

Again, I get why the line was used, but I would have done without it.

Moving on from the number, Evie finally kisses the guy and gets it over with. She is just so soft and tender with him, caressing his face then letting her hand sneak down to his chest. Can I be him for minute?

When Doug snores, Evie FREAKS. Just look at her face. For a second there, her only constant outside of her family is not a constant anymore. The one stable thing she had is not as stable as she originally though. When that turns out to be Doug being a little shit, her initial reaction is to smack him and be mad about it. But her pout slowly relaxes into a relieved, small smile and it is everything.

Cruel cruel prank from Doug, but again, he’s a joker. It’s one of the few things the movies actually told about his character, so that’s fine. If Evie can forgive him then so can I. I would have strangled him for a bit first, though.

And I assume Evie and Doug talk about the whole true love thing somewhere off screen, since they spend together the time it takes for Uma to eat cake twice (once with Dizzy and once with Mal when they sort of make up) and the guys to find Ben, de-beast him and bring him back. So yeah, probably they talk things through like the mature couple they have proved to be, maybe sharing a few kisses and so. Oh, and catching up, Evie absolutely fills him in on everything that has been going on the past few hours.

Then Audrey traps everybody inside, breaking their couple time and bringing them back to reality. When Uma helps Mal and they’re freed, Evie looks off screen towards Doug, gives him a big smile and a nod. Like, See? I did that! I got them working together! See my handy work and be proud!

Of course, whether Evie is the reason for them getting over their conflict or not is irrelevant. She tried. But the point is, she looks at him, showing him the result of what she has been working towards.

Again, one thing I have noticed was that, other than the fact that Doug is talking to Gil when Ben interrupts to send Doug, Jane and Gil to find Fairy God Mother, Uma and Evie wave Doug goodbye. You can clearly see Gil looking the other way a few beats before Uma and Evie raise their hands in sync. It wasn’t for Gil, oh no, it wasn’t for Gil.

So, Uma likes Doug, you can’t change my mind. And I don’t know about you, but Queen Uma’s opinions are clearly superior and to be trusted. I could end this here and be done with it and I’ll be satisfied.

But there’s more.

Engagement Party time!!

To kick things off, Doug is hanging out with Evie and Jay, you know, as he is part of the group. For some reason, even Jane and Carlos aren’t together and Chad looking around aimlessly and not being a part of anything is definitely me at a party. Chad in general is a mood on his own.

During Mal’s speech, when she makes it known that Hades is her father, everyone looks around in confusion. Except Evie, Carlos, Doug and Jay. Jay moves slightly but I think it’s more of the shock about Mal going public than the information itself. Everybody else looks confused, even Jane and Audrey.

Knowing that Jane, Chad and Doug were absent when Mal told about Hades the first time, when Audrey was comatose, and assuming that Audrey didn’t catch onto why Hades was there to help wake her up, it’s expected that all four of them would be clueless at this point.

But Doug isn’t. He knows. Evie definitely either let it slip sometime before and made him promise not to tell anyone or she told him sometime between their true love kiss and the party. Since Evie is a secret keeper herself, I’d assume that this piece of information was given to Doug as part of the run down after the kiss or after Audrey was rescued.

So yeah, Evie trusts him as blindly as he trusts her.

Anyway, Mal goes blah blah blah barrier down blah blah blah they sing the final number and Harry pulls the sleazy move of all sleazy moves. He literally hits on four different people in, like, one minute. He asks if Mal is taken, attempts to give Evie the eyes, tries to kiss Uma then lets himself be pulled away by Audrey.

Harry asks if Mal’s is taken and Doug’s dancing ceases and he steps forward. I don’t think Doug thought that Harry would move onto Evie next, he barely knows him, and he hasn’t seen Harry making a move on anyone before. Doug definitely steps forward to interfere and stop Harry’s advances on his best friend’s fiancé. However, Evie shots Harry down so Harry tries to make eyes at her but Doug shots him down instantly.

Harry legit looks at Doug sort of in deflated disappointment and is elbowed by Uma for two reasons, one being the fact that Uma has witnessed Evie waking Doug up with a true love’s kiss and two, Uma’s own feelings for Harry. Obviously. She acknowledges that she had shot him down before but now everything is different, it is safe now for her to let herself be in love.

So yeah, Evie laugh, grabs Doug and leaves after the grumpy and pouty Uma.

Also, the following gif means that Doug is to Evie what Harry is to Uma. I’ll just leave it at that.

And that concludes all the Evie/Doug story in the three movies. I guess it kind of proves my point that you have to read between the lines and look hard in every shot to gather what is going on with every character and pairing. To be honest, I get why some people might say that Evie deserves better than Doug because he’s not good looking enough or not interesting enough or whatever. Again, Doug was never meant to be viewed as good looking or classically handsome from the start. He is the son of a sidekick after all. And him not being interesting enough, it’s just the movie prioritizing the moving the story forward over developing already existing characters. Making him anything but what he was in the final cuts of the movies undoes all the character development Evie had, which is garbage.

I guess my point is, it is not about deserving. It’s never about deserving when it comes to love. It’s about loving your partner unconditionally, helping them rid of their flaws, treating them the best way you can, being their support system and believer. That is why Evie and Doug are one of the best-developed couples.

A few things I felt like going over:

1- The movies have severely underused all the characters, we can all agree on that, but none more than Doug. The AKs especially, after the first movie they were all but accessories, not even amounting to supporting characters. Lonnie was actually the only one who got no good story arc in the first movie, which is why she had her own in the second and that’s that.

2- “Doug has no contribution in D3″ Well... I am not entirely sure how to break this to you, but none of the AKs did. Chad did absolutely nothing as Audrey’s sidekick except be a comic relief.

Jane’s contribution was turning Beast-Ben into semiBeast-Ben. Which could have been achieved through ending Audrey’s reign of terror, or the guys holding down Ben while Mal true-love’s-kisses the spell out of him. So... Jane’s contribution, while is smart, is pointless. And when she is sent to find her mother, she does find her on the steps to the museum that holds her wand. And Jane doesn’t even think about carrying on the plan her mother obviously had in mind.

And this is Ben’s contribution. He took them to the Audrey’s lair, which she had already abandoned at this point. So Ben’s story in D3 is proposal, Beastie Boi, beard-and-fanged-up, Uber driver, Stone Boi, nervous pacing and finally, engagement party. With a side of being surprised all the time.

3- Doug receives so much hate with absolutely no good reason. I have already gone over the character, but let’s stop a second at his looks and wardrobe. And like, I didn’t want to go there, but I kind of have to, it wasn’t just about the hair. Some people are ripping him apart, completely ghosting over the fact that Zachary Gibson is a real human being, who has been struggling with his mental health and is finally getting better and feeling comfortable in his own skin. So, just relax. I am not trying to call out anyone or even shit on any ships, they can all coexist, it is what fanfiction if for. But ripping into the guy like that is unacceptable.

4- I have seen people going on about Doug’s wardrobe and how it is boring, but have you seen the movie? Because Doug’s outfit is on level compared to the AKs’ guys outfits to Jane’s birthday, and none of the AKs’ outfits come even close to what the VKs are rocking. Here’s what everyone are wearing to Jane’s birthday for reference:

Then here’s Doug’s:

He’s literally wearing the same exact outfit as Chad but with his own colors, both are average and boring compared to the girls’ dresses or the VKs’ outfits. Can’t we agree that Chad and Doug were cheated and move on?

Rant done, I promise.

I’d normally see you off with gifs of Evie and Doug, but I also thought I’d include gifs and images of Doug interacting with everyone. Because he’s one of the few characters that actually does interact with almost every important character on screen.

And with these, I rest my many cases:

As for his interactions with the rest of the core4 and the AKs:

And, my favorites, his interactions with the sea3:

This is the start of a beautiful friendship:

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louiseisfucked · 4 years

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Sexy White Men in The Wilderness— What Could Go Wrong?

If I had a dollar for every time I’ve seen an attractive buff white male roaming around a jungle, I could hire experts to write my English essays. Joking. Well, not really. But, you got my point. Hollywood seems to cannot get enough of churning out this fever dream of paternalistic imperialism and colonialism. They all have the same motive: a white guy, remote areas of a forest or an island and a group of indigenous people. Whether they have been familiar with this area or not, these white men seem to always find a way to be superior or get their way through problems.

Okay, but what are these movies mentioned? First off, let's talk about our beloved wild man in the loincloth, Tarzan. He started off as a character written by Edgar Rice Burroughs in 1912, titled "Tarzan of the Apes" which ended up being a series of twenty-four books revolving a story of an aristocrat's son, who is abandoned in Africa when he was just a baby and was raised by a group of apes in the jungle.

In Burroughs' racist-stereotype-filled story, the ape had given Tarzan his name which means "white skin" in Burroughs' made-up ape language. Implying that the apes were aware that Tarzan had been different than them. Yet, supposedly being raised by a group of apes, Tarzan had a human-like behavior and granted his superior Anglo-Saxon genes, he was stronger and smarter than any African man he encountered. Besides being able to speak with animals, he is capable of climbing up trees, swinging through them, and learning new languages within a short period. On the contrary, all the Africans were portrayed as savages and racially inferior.

This idea in itself is racist and supports the mindset of colonial superiority. It promotes the "ooga-booga" stereotype around African people, which can be seen in films like "King Kong," 1931's "Trader Horn" (which features a white blonde jungle queen fighting a hostile tribe), and 1965's "The Naked Prey" (in which a white man who offends a native tribe is first tortured, then hunted for sport.)

Oddly enough, Burroughs' character has based off 50 on-screen films, not to mention stage plays, documentaries, and video games. The latest version of it was a 2016 movie distributed by Warner Bros., titled "The Legend of Tarzan." The plot involves a Tarzan (played by Alexander Skarsgård) based in Victorian London who is ready to shed his clothes and fight greedy explorers in the Congo. Though I have to say, the newest adaptation film should receive some credits for at least showing a sophisticated African society and casting African actors. Nevertheless, we can't escape the fact that it is still a story with the paternalistic idea that it takes a white man to save Africa. But I mean, hey, they did include Samuel L. Jackson—the go-to actor for films to claim inclusivity— right?

This "white man in the jungle" narrative could be seen played out in movies over and over again, from Kurtz in Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness to Sam Worthington in Avatar. They all are spreading the implicit message "put a white man in the wilderness and he will rise to the top." Another form of literature with this message would be the tale of Robinson Crusoe. It is hard for me to understand why some countries have the 1st of February as the day to celebrate this Daniel Defoe's character from the 18th century when really? Crusoe's tale is a handbook for colonialism.

There was a part where Crusoe was captured and enslaved by the island's local residents. He managed to escape with the help of another slave of color only to sell his helper off to a Portuguese man that conveyed him to Brazil. In Brazil, he got involved in the slave trade where they would capture slaves from Africa. On the journey, his ship got wrecked and left him stranded on an island. He lived there for 28 years only to find out that there are "cannibals." He then "rescued" one of them and named him Friday and have him subordinated himself to Crusoe and voluntarily became his servant out of "gratitude." Crusoe's tale blatantly shows off racial supremacy and defends the idea of slavery.

Even though these are all characters in books or movies, they perfectly illustrated the beliefs of society at that time. Society then viewed whiteness as equals to civilization. This is not a justification, rather an understanding towards their point of view and a reason not to condemn these works. We can't sanitize history and pretend it didn't happen. Though, it is such a pity to see Hollywood tried to retell and do the Tarzan story just with their 2016 movie. It only emphasizes the fact that it is quite hard to move on from the belief of white supremacy and the familiarity of reigning over a no-man island. The movie did nothing to rectify the issues surrounding the original plot, and instead, they were glorified. We, as a society, could only learn from the past and change for the better.

A way to cover these issues on a screenplay or a novel without seemingly being racist or imperialist would be by giving the right representation of the indigenous people and tribes. They are often depicted along with their exotic set-dressing, as savages and inhumane. They glorify the idea that a clever white man can bring order to the “dark continent." When really, it's not them that should be feared. It's those "saviors." However, there's no right way of representing a culture that is not yours.

#colonialism #tarzan #racisim #indigenous #african #robinson crusoe #white man #people of color #imperialism #edgar rice burroughs #racist #english essay #i didnt get enough sleep #slavery #writing #culture appropriation

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mrsmess · 4 years

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Faves and fails of SPN (season 9)

Favorite episodes (in chronological order):

9:1 I think I’m gonna like it here - Usually not a fan of intro episodes but this is pretty tight

9:4 Slumber party - YES. Anything Charlie! Supernatural meets Once Upon a Time. Sam responding to Charlie’s info on who uploaded the unpublished Supernatural books. ”None. Uhm. No bells.” Lol.

9:5 Dog Dean afternoon - One of the best episodes in the entire show for obvious reasons: Jensen Ackles frolicking. The scene when the spell takes effect is amazing.

9:7 Bad boys - Love the retro episodes, this one is heartbreaking and scary to match. The fact that the show keeps revealing stuff about their childhood, John’s tough love approach, and stuff lost by the years separating the boys as well as their distinct roles, is really good. Kinda makes me wish we got more of those episodes. This casting of tween!Dean is very good, he rly is insufferable, and vulnerable, and much better than the one in the dodge ball episode. Blake Gibbons is also great in his role . The ending! Omg! I’m literally crying. ”He just said to tell you you have a job. Said you’d know what that means.”

9:11 First born - Ah. The blade. The Cain storyline. Loving the ”buddy” comedies; pairings Dean & Crowley and Sam & Cass. Dean growing a beard, a little overkill but I’ll take it. Cain is cute, and kinda entertaining. The idea that the Winchesters are allowed to change, Cass, what a radical concept.

9:13 The purge - Thank goodness they’re back together even if they’re just faking it til they’re ”making” it. Dean eating pudding, Sam doing yoga ”You’re not the only one who’s dated someone bendy.” And Sam asks Dean to admit that he didn’t save Sam out of some altruistic motive but for him himself, which is fine, right? I think that’s fine. Half the time I think most of their problems could be solved by (mainly) Dean just being honest about what he feels.

9:15 #thinman - this starts out pretty funny and ends up so frickin’ dark. Ed and Harry being some weird foil for Sam and Dean. The realness of this story is kinda painful.

9:18 Meta fiction - Gabriel! If only for a brief shining moment. Gadreel’s old vessel- I like him. Metatron injecting Cass with every book, movie, tv show... nifty!

9:19 Alex Annie Alexis Ann - A wayward daughter introduced. And Jody Mills is always a win. Good, tight episode. Excellent character study. Creepy ass monsters *because* they’re so human. One of the best episodes of this season.

9:21 King of the damned - Now this is my kinda torture. And Crowley and his son. And calling off the Hellhound over speaker phone. Why is this so funny?

9:23 Do you believe in miracles - Besides Dean bugging the crap outta me, this finale is actually pretty interesting. I rly like it. ”What happened to you being okay with this?” ”I lied.” I love them.

Fail episodes (in chronological order):

9:9 Holy terror - Angel stuff. And torture. Boring. Plus Gadreel offing Kevin. Booooooh! ”I always trust you, and I always end up screwed.” Winchesters, amiright?

9:12 Sharp teeth - Garth is a werewolf. Hate the brothers being out of sorts. A theme for the episode seems to be estrangement, deception. Serves to show how compulsive particularly Dean is, how lonely he makes himself. It’s all interesting but how am I supposed to be okay with an episode which ends this way? My heart just breaks.

9:20 Bloodlines - God I hate this.

Mediocre mentions:

Rock and a hard place - ”Congratulations Sam and Dean Winchester! You are both virgins!” Lol. Dean describing sex. Awesome. Not his finest hour making that sneaky pass on an ex porn star though, they could’ve played that *way* better.

Road trip - More angel stuff. *sigh* A torture montage is the quickest way to wind up off the fave list. Dean and Cas having a little tete-a-tete is nice, not enough to make up for it. However, Crowley and Gadreel doubleteaming Sam has me shouting on the couch. Okay, fine! ”If I see you again-” ”Yes, I’m dead, I love you too.” And ”Daddy’s home.” Crowley saves the episode.

Honorable mentions:

Using ”Who do you love?” in the previously on-section first thing this season.

I am into this new communicative schtick the bros have going. I’m loving this new and improved, supportive, sinscere, soft Dean, more of that plz.

Castiel going by Clarence! My heart! And experiencing the small and trying things of being human: thirst, hunger, lust, making money last, working shitty jobs, baby sitting. It rly does wonders for how I feel about him.

Ghost!Kevin telling the brothers to get over it. ”My mom’s taking home a ghost, you both are still here.”

The crazy collector and Human!Crowley in Blade Runners are more than a little icky- but also very interesting.

The chemistry between Padalecki and Jenny O’Hara in Mother’s little helper. The chemistry between Sam and Cass in this season, I feel there’s a real exchange there. Sam’s character has a really satisfying range in how it interacts with others, I dig that.

Dishonorable mentions:

Dean showing Cas the door w/o setting him up w a safe house. Especially since they put Kevin up in a warded motel room in Branson the very next episode. Winchesters, man.

Summing up:

I’m rly taken by the speech from Sharp Teeth. It’s much better written than I’ve given it credit for. On the one hand, Dean’s arc from the end of season 8 has made it emotionally and reasonably clear what his one job is, what his purpose is. At any price. Sam meanwhile is bigger picture, and the thing with Gadreel just made it clear that his and Deans ideas of their joint purpose differ. That’s why Sam says ”everything that’s ever gone wrong between us has been because we’re family.”

But well written or not; this really real conflict is also a big problem with this season, mainly because they use it for friction but ultimately not enough closure.

#supernatural #favorite episodes #spn meta #random fandom #rewatch #no this is not a supernatural blog

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journey2maya · 4 years

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Narratology: Second Draft

Analyse your chosen narrative with close reference to the Hero’s Journey or another appropriate template

For this essay I have chosen to talk about the narrative structure of the 2017 film My Little Pony: The Movie. I will be making a structural analysis with reference to the Quest plot type as described in Cristopher Booker’s The seven basic plots. [1] to paraphrase; in any quest story there is always a priceless goal which drives the hero’s passion to succeed. The hero and some companions must embark on a perilous journey filled with monsters, temptation and helpers, to reach their goal. The story is unresolved until the overriding objective has been secured.[Booker 2004 pg 69] I will be taking a look at how the animation enriches the narrative through choice of design and also touch on how the songs drive the narrative at certain points.

The movie was produced by DHX media in collaboration with AllSpark pictures using Toon Boom Harmony production software [2] which specialises in integrating 3D elements with 2D characters. [3] the film emphasises traditional animation and is supported throughout with modern 3-D solutions. The TV show is animated using flash and along with this change of animation software there also came a change in art style. To quote Art Director Rebecca Dart; for the feature film, the characters became more volumetric overall, meaning they have more of a roundness and softness for the 360 degree world of Equestria and beyond that we created for the movie.” [4] This extract from the ‘art of’ book shows a comparison of the two styles.

Figure 1. A style comparison. Page 20, 2017 [4]

These small changes really make the difference on the big screen and giving the ponies’ ears an inside fold allows the ears to swivel and be more expressive, closer to real life horse ears. The shimmer of the eyes also adds to the depth of emotion and these small changes are an example of how small changes really make the difference.

The plot of the movie is as follows; Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Rarity embark on an epic journey to save Equestria from the tyranny of the Storm King. Along the way, the Mane 6 meet new friends and face challenges as they travel beyond Equestria for the first time ever. From this summary we can pick out the key features of a quest story. The call; a sudden threat has arisen that gives purpose to a journey. [Booker, 2005 pg. 70] for this story it’s the threat of the Storm King. The hero’s companions; Apple Jack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Rarity, along with the dragon assistant spike, accompany Twilight on her quest. The journey; the essential party of any quest story where our hero and their companions go through a series of terrible ordeals, receive help and guidance and are met with challenges they must overcome [Booker, 2005 pg. 73]. For the mane six this spans most of the movie. They go to a range of locations that play respective roles in pushing the narrative and I’ll be looking at each location in further detail. The helpers; characters that serve as an aid to the hero and her companions [Booker, 2005 pg. 77] ( the new friends they meet along the way) the helpers in this particular movie are quite important as they not only help during the journey but they also in what booker calls the ‘final ordeal’ it is the last battle between good and evil, where the hero comes to the edge of their goal [Booker,2005 pg. 78].

At the start of the film we see the ponies preparing for the first official Friendship Festival in Canterlot, Equestrias capital. Everywhere is bustling. The event is highly anticipated and each of the mane six are helping prepare by putting up decorations,and erecting tents and booths to sell many different wares through this we get introductions to our characters, including spike, to show a little of their personality. This is important because it makes the characters seem more real. They’re not just an accessory to Twilight's adventure, they’re individuals and they’re part of it in a big way. Twilight Sparkle, the unofficial leader of the friend group, is being true to character and is worried that the festival won’t be perfect. As the Princess Of Friendship the pressure is all on her to make sure that everypony has a good time. Twilight’s friends rally around her in an attempt to reassure her that everything will be fine in the form of the song ‘We Got This Together.’

This song highlights the mane six’s teamwork and interpersonal relationship as strong. This Song also carries heavy foreshadowing as it implies that true to form, of a quest story, everything is certainty not going to go to plan but that the mane six will indeed face any problem together. However the genial atmosphere is cut with a knife when dark clouds loom over Canterlot, blackening the perfectly clear sky. Normally this wouldn’t be anything to worry about but in the lore of MLP, Pegasi ponies can control the weather. Twilight even gets frustrated because she “ordered perfect weather.” It’s a huge contrast to the previously established setting.

We are introduced to our first antagonist: Tempest Shadow. A jaded unicorn motivated by anger and a wish to be whole again. She is dedicated to being the Storm Kings Hench-pony and chief bounty hunter, all so he can retire her horn after she delivers on the promise to retrieve the magic of the four princesses for the Storm King’s use. Tempest is supposed to look different and like an outcast because it relates to her story arc and past. She has a darker palette than we would normally see which instantly makes her read as an antagonist. She doesn’t look like the other characters and we don’t know her so we shouldn’t trust her. A great example of changes the design department made were for the better.

Figure 2. Design concepts for ‘Cosmos’ as Tempest was originally going to be called.Pg 46 2017 [4]

Tempest asks for surrender which, of course he princesses refuse. This is when things go from bad to worse. An army of Storm creatures are revealed as their air ships emerge from the fog. They come down on Canterlot, capturing ponies who dare to flee.

Tempest turns Three of the princesses,Celestia Luna and Cadence, into obsidian statues.

Figure 3. Cadence is about to be engulfed [5] 2017

Figure 3. Twilight saves Princess Luna from smashing to pieces [5] 2017

The final words of Princess Celestia, to her sister Luna, is to fly south and seek the help from the queen of the hippo…

She is unable to finish what she was going to say and Luna I’m unable to carry out the mission as they are both encased in an obsidian prison.Twilight is the only princess left and so, with her friends, they all make a daring escape over on of the waterfalls that make up Canterlots architecture. Unequivocally this is what Booker refers to as ‘the call’ [Booker, 2005 pg 70]] Tempest's arrival and disruption is the reason why the mane six must embark on the quest the Friendship Festival has gone terribly wrong and the stakes are high. Twilight and her friends have to make this journey to set things right. As said in Booker, ‘surrounded by an atmosphere of menace and construction, the Quest hero and her friends feel under intense compulsion to get away.” [Booker 2005, pg 71] This is exactly what has happened to the mane six and we now have a definite goal- to save Equestria from the Storm King and Tempest Shadow.

The next stage, perhaps one of the most defining of a quest story that Christopher Booker has identified, which is certainly present in the movie, is that Twilight isn’t alone in the journey she has to take. Twilight is accompanied by her friends who each have their own virtues and abilities that contribute to the success of the adventure. Or to the detriment.

Pinkie pie is a particularly important part of Twilights company as she represents one of the 4 basic forms that a hero’s companion should be. A subtle alter-ego whose role is to serve as a foil, displaying qualities of the opposite of those shown by the hero.[Booker 2005 pg 72] for example in the ‘Epic Of Gilgamesh’ whenever Gilgamesh displays assets of courage and confidence it is Enkidu, his brother, who expresses fear and doubt. [Unknown, C.1800 BC tablet 2] In the MLP Movie when Twilight shows concern and worry, Pinkie Pie is only concerned about how much fun can be had and she derails the situation with her silly antics.

Through all the obstacles that the Mane 6 face. Their arrival in seaquestria is the most crucial. It is where Twilight is faced with one of the specific obstacles that Booker notes must be present. Twilight succumbs to a temptation. Seaquestria is the underwater world that the hippogriffs were forced to inhabit to hide from the Storm King. The Queen of the hippogriffs used a magic pearl to turn her subjects into sea ponies. Pinkie pie makes friends with Queen Novos daughter, Princess Skystar and Twilight realised that the pearl can transform the ponies of Canterlot into

An army that can defeat the Storm King however Novo refuses to give her it. The mane six go to leave but notice that Skystar is sad because her new friends are leaving. Twilight, surprisingly, encourages Pinkie pie to cheer her up with a song. When the song is finished we find out that this was just a ploy so everyone would be distracted whilst twilight tries to steal the pearl.

Figure 4. Twilight is tangled in the jellyfish cage that guards the pearl. [5] 2017

This leads to The mane six’s forced exit from seaquestria and more importantly Twilights downfall. Because Pinkie Pie was able to cram a lifetime of fun into one song the hippogriffs were going to give them the pearl as a thank you. Twilights lack of faith in her friends causes a big argument between her and Pinkie Pie which leaves twilight sitting alone on a greyscale beach. This makes her look even more isolated and alone as she is the only colourful thing in the scene. She is captured by Tempest who has been on the groups tail since the start. Tempest shares her backstory with Twilight. This gives us an insight into tempests motivation and creates a vulnerability in her. and she is taken back to Canterlot where we finally see the Storm King in full glory as he is able to steal the magic from all four princesses, channelling it through the staff of succannas, becoming omnipotent in the process. The Storm King casts Tempest aside, refusing to restore her horn as he had promised he would.

After Twilight is captured and left weak without her magic we get the last stage of a classic quest story; the final ordeal Where the heroes come to the edge of their great goal [Booker 2004 pg 78] Twilight’s friends engage in an epic battle against the storm creatures with the help of Skystar and some other friends they made on their journey. Near the end of the battle the staff creates a wretched Storm that takes Twilight, the Storm King and the staff away. Twilight's friends are of course distraught but this is the part in the story where our hero has her last ‘thrilling escape from death’ [Booker 2005 pg 83] and returns with the staff and settles the skies.

Unfortunately the fight isn’t over as the Storm King also survived the storm. it seems like he has the upper hand and is about to turn the mane six into obsidian statues. Tempest jumps in front of the mane six to save them, reforming herself and pushing the Storm King over the edge so he smashes to pieces. The mane six save tempest and together the seven of them release the princesses and save equestria. Our hero Twilight has reached her goal and so the quest has ended.

This version was more focused but it was still too detailed. I took out the images that weren’t needed and I went in a slightly different direction. Choosing only to focus on one of the locations the mane six voyage to so I could focus on it more and make a more detailed and structured analysis.

#narratology

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secret-time-is-here · 5 years

Text

The bad guys rewrite

Notes: For original accounts anniversary (June 14) I decided to rewrite The bad guys series into one -yes one- long story. Also, thank you to @toynako (Not sure if you want me to tag you here) for the first ever person to like my crappy writing :3

warnings: too many to put, but it’s really long (7,150 to be exact)

Boredom. How long had he felt it? Had it been Decades or Centries? What could he do?

He only had so many AUs to play with to soothe his indifference, it’s not like he’d ever owned any friends, and even then, if he did, would he be in the place he is in now?

The self-proclaimed King sat in his throne, feeling small compared to the size of the room. He sat laying across the seat and its two arms, looking like a child forced to this role due to his height and him swinging his legs. However, this man was far from a child, he was in his hundreds and was about to reach his 217th birthday- marking 200 years reigning as King.

He glanced over at one of his tendrils, a mass of solidified goop that ran like a waterfall but forever stayed in its own shape, defying all laws of Matter it could. The color was a dark green, almost black-but still held elements of blue- creating a new color of its own, it even matched the color scheme of him himself and by extension the palette for most of his decor.

The goop that covered that tendril wasn’t just there either, it covered his whole body- from his skull to his skeletal toes, that was the only color you could see. Although, the color fit his self-proclaimed title as the “King of Darkness” perfectly.

The goop itself could become a burden, however, the only reason he even had the goop was because of the Dark apples. It could even fall off sometimes- he had to learn that the hard way- but it only stuck to him and to nothing or anyone else, at least he didn’t have to clean it off.

He laid there a while longer, searching his mind for anything to do. After searching through the mental files of memories, he remembered something he specifically put away in his private library, an area where he stored spirals of Notes on Aus, Journals, and much much more. He teleported to the spot, not caring to walk the distance to the room.

The object in question was a medium sized and handcrafted spiral that a close childhood… companion had given to him as a Birthday gift when he was 14, the memories came surging back to him as he picked it up. He remembered how the other insisted that they stayed away from the village nearby that day because it was their day, and no one was to interrupt it. They spent that whole day together reading his favorite books, then later had a well-made meal followed by a delicious dark chocolate cake that was just the right amount of bitter and sweet.

This meaning there was almost no sweetness to it, strong dark chocolate as the King called it (70-80% cocoa for you readers). He could tell his companion didn’t care for the cake all that much, and remembering the face he made when he had the first bite- probably didn’t like it at all, but his companion still ate on. He hid his distaste for the food and just wanted the other to be happy, which, surprisingly, worked at the time.

The King often missed the past, he smiled at the memories- but then his smile turned flat as he turned through the pages, looking for any notes that stood out. The past was the past and he now had to look forward and forget what made him the victim, and instead remember what made him the feared guardian and dark King of today.

The spiral held notes he had taken from hearing the villages conversations about other AUs and outcodes, at the time he didn’t understand most of it, but after the years he slowly pieced everything together and could talk about almost any AU you asked about. He set up timelines of events, specific details on AUs, and even what made the AU special or terrible- helping him to avoid them then and take Negativity from them now.

He finally found what he was looking for, it was towards the middle of the spiral and written bigger than everything else- meant for him to remember it. A learning strategy if he remembered correctly, he purposefully did this so he could remember that peculiarity of these two specific individuals.

The first one was Error, a destroyer of worlds, he wrote for him possible motivation and wrote as much on his backstory as he heard. He put a few possible timelines together, he became an Error and already hated the world, he already was an Error and something drove him to destroy, or he was simply insane or psychotic. Fitting enough for how he acted.

The second was the helper of creators, Ink, he -as his title suggested- helps creators and gives them motivation. He had written similar things for him with a few side details that included his bad memory -aside from traumatizing events- as well as his lack of emotion and a soul, Ink was an empty husk that lived because of the AUs creation.

He remembered Ink well enough, he was a colorful skeleton with an expressive pair of eyes, they had a run in once after the King started his rule- ever since Ink had avoided him. Ink may be emotionless, but even those who can’t feel emotions fear death. What he wrote as possible motivation was almost exactly the same as Error’s except he kept the concept of Ink being part of the void from the start.

Another thing came to mind as he thought about the peculiar pair, a handful of pacifistic AUs that had gone off from the path as of late. Gaining strong amounts of negativity, made he could help them so they didn’t end up like hi- ...so they didn’t end up insane.

Not a second later and he was outside the ruin doors of a pacifist -or soon to be pacifist- Undertale Snowdin, trees were all around aside from in front and behind him.

Dust circled around him and in the air. The King brought his turtle neck up to his mouth and nose, covering them so he wouldn’t have to breathe it in. He was far too late. It didn’t seem to help that the more he walked around the underground world, the more evidence he had to support his theory, there wasn’t anyone left alive or spared. Even temmie village was quiet.

The uneasiness of the surrounding area sent small chills and shivers up the King’s spine, the quiet deafening, the only sound other than his breathing being his subtle footsteps as he walked along. The ruins, snowdin, waterfall, Hotland, core, and the surrounding area of New home were all empty, that is if you didn’t account for the dust. Even the true lab was empty.

Sighing, the King went to the only place left to look, the judgment hall. The one place he had left alone.

The gold hall shimmered before turning dark from his presence, startling the skeleton idly sitting at its exit. The skeleton turned, shocked. Clearly not expecting it as it was obvious everyone was dead in this timeline.

The sans’ eyes were blank, streams of tears drying underneath his eyes and turning black along his skull, his soul misshapen and red by the sheer amount of determination and LOVE running through him. Other than those few unique details, he was -or at least looked- as normal as any other sans.

“I thought I killed everyone...” The sans deadpanned, looking annoyed and astounded someone got out of his merciless grasp. His eye’s slanted in grimace, slowly pulling out a knife as he stood up and mentally prepared himself for battle.

“Friend, you don’t want to do that.” The king announced, chuckling. The sans’ stance tensed but relaxed too, unsure whether he should listen to this dark being’s advice. “I’m certain we can come to a compromise rather than fight- besides, I sincerely doubt you’d make it far.”

The murderous sans moved forward anyway, only to be picked up and stopped by one of the King’s black tendrils, his arms restrained and held down against his body by the same tendrill.

The knife clinked as it fell to the floor from the sans’ surprise. His look turned from annoyance and surprise to hatred and distaste.

“Fine,” He growled out, “...What compromise do you have in mind? And- can I question who and what the hell are you?” His eye’s changed from slanted and angry to raised, suspicious and confused; Seemingly willing to listen.

“I, young one, am Nightmare, a skeleton much like you. I am also a guardian and King of sorts, of negativity- and you, friend, just happen to radiate such; Allowing me to find you.” Nightmare summed up, “Now, the compromise I had in mind, it’s up on the table whether you decide to take the offer now or even down the timeline- heh.

“The compromise itself is simply you join me and what will eventually become a team of people to help spread negativity- killing, destroying, ruining lives, etc.- and leave this empty world for the large multiverse beyond it. All I ask in return is for you to trust and join me, let me take care of you as you work for me. Are you willing to take it?” Nightmare concluded his speech, dropping the sans and holding out his hand as he did so.

The sans hesitated, seemingly fighting between sticking solo and possibly joining this Nightmare down the line or joining this skeleton and allowing Nightmare to take care of him as he worked under him.

Eventually, he nodded; grabbing onto Nightmare’s extended hand to pull himself up and shake it, sealing their deal.

“Good choice,” Nightmare concluded, as he made a portal back to his mansion, “Now before we head back, what can I call you? You will come to find that there are many sans’ in the multiverse, even I am a variation of one.” Nightmare asked

“Um… would Killer work?” Killer answered, unsure of himself.

“Of course, now, head through this portal. It’ll take you to the hideout, feel free to explore while I look for the other team members I have in mind.” Killer followed these orders and jumped through the portal, supposedly ending up at Nightmare’s mansion.

One down, five to go.

His two next targets were easy to find, this was because if you found one, you found the other. There was little time spent apart for these two, a constant battle that was set to never end. Each time they were hurt more and more, each time to go to their homes to only heal, sleep, and possibly eat and then return to the battlefield.

Error didn’t stop destroying nor stop fighting Ink, Ink wouldn’t stop helping Creators nor fighting Error. The two created a balance of peace, without destruction you have a scrambled mess, without creation, you wouldn’t have anything in the first place. The circle of life, the circle of balance, Yin has their Yang, Yang has their Yin. The good side will only be balanced with elements of bad, and bad will only be balanced with elements of good.

However, in this situation Error was the pillar to finding Ink, and it was difficult to do it the other way around.

The protector of worlds was a soulless being, his intentions as soulless as his body. He didn’t care if the AUs were starving or celebrating, as long as they were alive. Being soulless did benefit him in one way, however, he didn’t mourn over the lost and destroyed AUs, allowing him to continue fighting against Error for their survival.

His targets were in a mind-wrecking place, the AntiVoid, fighting as if everything was on the line. To Nightmare’s somewhat joy and displeasure, Error’s back was facing him, letting Ink see him first.

Ink’s white eyes diverted from Error seeing a black blob in his peripheral. The pearly ovals glanced at Nightmare and then quickly changed to small lines, like daggers, in his eyes. Wanting to kill but prevented by his morals, it was only a little emotion, but it was the most he could convey without his paints.

This action also showed a glimpse of something else, fear.

Ink, deciding it better to save his skeletal hide than stick around, then left without a word, angering his opponent whom he was battling a few seconds ago.

“Hey, you asshole! I was fighting you! Where are you going?!!” The air was thick with the monster's anger, clearly pissed with his foe leaving mid-battle.

Nightmare smirked, if he did this right, he could make the great destroyer of worlds one of his friend- ...team members. If he gives Error a compelling argument, he could have him as at least an Allie.

“Ugh… that asshole is such a scatterbrain, probably forgot we were fighting in the first place...” Error mumbled to himself, almost like he was answering someone. Nightmare laughed behind him, that’d be something to deal with.

Although It’d be something for Nightmare himself to deal with if he managed to gain Ink as a teammate, and if he got both of them… he wondered how long the Mansion would stay standing with the two of them in it.

Error turned towards Nightmare, not even aware of his cold presence despite being a few feet away from the King. His expression showing his eyes wide in a shocked surprise, before slanting down, as if needing glasses to make out the details of who was standing in front of him; but not carrying them on him.

“I’d say it’s because he doesn’t want to be hurt by my hands,” Nightmare humored, “... again.” Error cringed at Nightmare’s sadistic aura. It reeked of darkness.

The more Nightmare stood there, and the longer he stayed, the more the darkness spread around his feet. Slowly, the blank white canvas of the AntiVoid was painted by the darkness that Nightmare was covered in. If he walked slow enough- he could probably leave dark footprints.

“What- and who- the hell are you?!” Error half questioned-half stated, unsure if he really wanted an answer to his question.

“I’m Nightmare, a guardian and King of negativity,” He answered, calmly speaking despite Error being in a battle stance and killing with his eyes. “-and you just so happen to give off so much anger that I can feel you emotional presence from across the multiverse.” He concluded, smiling at the shocked and further confused expression on the glitch’s face.

“...Okay, your weird-ass ability aside- you said you hurt Ink?” Error’s look turned from its previous confusion to question, and then murderous hope “Did you beat him!?”

Nightmare eyeballed Error for a second, as if looking at a child that didn’t know its place. Error’s look of hope and smile dropped, realizing he was hoping that someone he didn’t know had severely hurt his life long enemy in the past. His expression dropped and let go of his victorious look, exchanging it for an embarrassed and flustered.

Nightmare stood in silence, letting the embarrassment Error had truly take him over, it was funny to watch the mighty Destroyer as his face turned to an overripe blueberry. Minutes passed and eventually, Nightmare nodded his head, smirking.

“I thought that was clear,” Nightmare started, pausing to let the information sink in. Error had gone the extra mile to think aloud his quite murderous thought when it was implied that a painful interaction had happened, it was just a silly waste of time. Before the destroyer could speak anymore, Night continued “I do hope you enjoyed embarrassing yourself by the way.”

Error grumbled and pulled his hood up and covered his face with it, saying something along the lines of shut up but with a lot of swearing and insults, some of which were hypocritical but the King figured Error already knew that.

“So, now that’s over with, would you like to hear a proposal-? It may do you some good.” The lord of darkness coaxed, letting his new acquaintance take his time to answer the question. Error pushed his hood back, letting his face be shown, but skull still covered.

“Depends; what does the all mighty King of negativity and darkness want from a destroyer of worlds? Wouldn’t I cause less AUs and less negativity to feed off of?” Nightmare stilled, damn his old companion’s rumors.

He slowly sighed, this might not be worth it after all.

“Believe it or not, you are of much use to me, as I am may be of much benefit to you- and no, I don’t feed of negativity, I live off its existence. Without it, I wouldn’t be here and alive, I eat normal food like anyone else. Rumor may say otherwise, but truth prevails.” Nightmare explained, letting Error’s expression turn from reserved and doubtful to understanding and willing.

“Fine, you’ve convinced me to listen. What’s your proposal?”

“You join me, I own a mansion and have plenty of room for a companion, I’m sure it’d be a better living situation than sleeping on the floor of the AntiVoid. All I ask of you in return- if you join me- is that you be there when I ask of you. You work for me, I take care of you. If not, we could at least stay allies and you can have a residence with me.” The King offered, holding out his hand

Error shook in reply, pulling his body and hand away from the potential physical contact, cringing at it, clearly not wanting either to touch Nightmare’s goopy hand or not wanting to touch in anyway way. Nightmare raised an eyebrow, not fully getting what was wrong.

“Would a yes work…? I’m… not a big fan of touching.” Error explained, voice dropping at having to explain his ‘weakness’. Nightmare nodded, finally understanding.

“Before I let you go to my manor, there is one thing I wish to do. Come along,” Nightmare stated, opening a portal. Error quickly ran through it after him, following his new ally into AU after AU, not seeing what Nightmare was trying to do.

It was quiet as they did this, seemingly going through every AU in the multiverse, but only going through about 10. However, soon enough they reached a stop. They were on the surface of an underswap AU, stopped at a clearing in a forest. A forest where up high in one of the tall redwoods sat Ink, looking out at the sunset of the protected and safe AU.

Error bumped into Nightmare when they stopped, and started rebooting straight after, not expecting the contact. Nightmare whipped around after hearing the loud beeping noise, and so did another figure.

Ink jumped down from the tree he was sitting on, seemingly not as scared of Nightmare as he was minutes ago. His eyes shifted between bright yellow joy, orange confusion, and an occasional uncertain red-orange. Nightmare quickly picked up the artist with a tendril while he was distracted, making Ink make an alerted sound in reply.

Ink pouted at Nightmare, crossing his arms. His body language asking if this precaution was necessary. Nightmare grinned, finding Ink’s childish attitude amusing. Another loud beep took their attention once again.

Error sat blinking, seemingly trying to get his vision to clear of the error signs that covered it. He looked up to Nightmare and Ink, seeing them staring at him.

“...Um, what happened? Did I reboot again?” Error asked, scratching his skull as he shakily stood up, seemingly not remembering what happened between him falling and now.

“It would seem so, however, your reboot caught Ink’s attention and took him off guard. So I thank your predicament. Now, however, is the time to talk about you, Ink.” Nightmare turned his attention to Ink, and so did Error.

“What about me, octopus?” Ink challenged, now starting to glare at the skeleton holding him. Clearly not wanting to hear what this ‘bad guy’ had to say. While error kneeled over laughing at the nickname, Nightmare gave the artist an annoyed look.

“I wish to talk, that is all. I wish of no harm done to you, and I won’t let you harm anyone else- meaning, I don’t want you attacking Error nor him attacking you while I’m talking with you both, I also wish for you both to wait until I’m finished before arguing.” Ink nodded, looking like he was willing to cooperate for the time being, “Thank you, It’s nice to know even with the spread of rumors people are willing to listen.” Nightmare started before taking a seat on the forest floor, Error following soon after with Ink still suspended slightly in the air by a tendril.

Nightmare sighed, he was going to have to explain a lot to get both of them to cooperate and join.

“I wish for both of you to be part of my team of sorts, it’s more or less me giving you a residence, care food and more in return for you working with or for me. However, there are a few complications. Ink, I’m aware you somewhat in alliance with Dream, an old, old ex-friend of mine. He’s spread lies about me for years and I just wish to stop that and continue to keep the balance of the multiverse in peace.

“Another issue is your relationship with Error and vise versa. To begin with, there’s nothing there whatsoever, you both are enemies and that’s how you’ve always lived. If you were to come to compromise this could work, I don’t want to keep you across the manor from each other just because you don’t get along. It might help with your decision to know that I know close to all of your information, aside for your pasts which not even you yourselves know so… that’s something to keep in mind.” The king finished, happy with how his speech came out, for something off the top of his head it was good.

The enemies blinked, looking like they were struggling to take in all the information. A safe place to call home with food and care, false rumors spread by the ‘good guy’, keeping balance, compromising with their life long enemy to get care and a safe home, Nightmare knowing almost everything about them. It was a lot when you break it down.

“Hold up, how much exactly do you know about us?” Ink asked, confusion clear in his multicolor and forever changing eyes. The King sighed in response, of course, there was going to be some questions.

He went to his hoodie pocket and took out a small spiral, quickly flipping and scanning the pages until he reached about halfway through.

“Here it is, ‘Ink the protector of worlds is secretive, but I have close to all his information pieced out, the same applies to the destroyer of worlds Error. Both have phobias, both different, and Ink seems to own PTSD for the AntiVoid and gained chromophobia- fear of white- from it, he may also be somewhat psychotic. Speaking to voices in his head and owning no emotions of his own; all his emotions being prompted by the vials he drinks.’ Does that sound about right, Ink?” Nightmare questioned, before picking up where he left off, “‘he could also possibly be touch starved because of his time alone, even if he may not show it, he could own haphephobia- fear of touch- as well but it’s hard to tell with his secrecy.

“‘Error seems to show similar symptoms to Ink, except he still owns emotion. He talks to voices in his head much like Ink but he does also possess a large kill count and seemingly relentless murder streak. Error may own haphephobia but that information could be false, he doesn’t seem to own chromophobia since he most likely lives in the AntiVoid, not having anywhere else to go considering the AUs hate him for his murdering tendencies.’” Nightmare concluded, closing the journal and putting it back in his pocket, now waiting for his potential allies answers.

The silence bore into the King as he waited, his eye socket dark and emotionless, showing his exhaustion catching up to him.

“I’m in, and willing.” Error finally spoke, looking to Ink to silently signal the other to answer.

“I’m not- I don’t care if Dream is right or wrong, I don’t need help from the likes of you- either of you. Now, let me go. I need to get back to work. This was only supposed to be a short break.” Nightmare gave a slow nod, releasing him from the tendril’s grasp and letting him fall the few inches left to the ground.

After that, the artist ran off, probably to make a portal and get out of reach of them so he couldn’t be tracked as easily. However, Error ran after him. By the time he realized Error had ran after Ink, his new companion was long gone.

Damn him.

Nightmare got up, swaying as he was exhausted from using so much of his magic and general energy that day. Teleporting multiple times in a day, going to at least 12 AUs, and holding skeletons in the air with his tendrils -which were sustained by his magic- had taken a lot out of him.

Slowly he followed the destroyer, going along the broken path of branches and moved branches. It didn’t take long to catch up, however, so he was able to hear Error started what seemed to be a rant at Ink.

“What the hell was that?!” Error called after Ink when he got to where the artist stopped. The protector raised a skeletal eyebrow at him, not knowing what the destroyer was so angry at. “You don’t want help from ‘the likes of us’ the fuck is that about?! I knew you were an asshole but really? That was so uncalled for! You don’t even know what it’s like being on this side, you ass, you have no right to call us that!”

“Hypocrite.” Ink responded, monotone and seemingly just wanting this to be over with.

“What am I being hypocritical about?! Sure I’m an asshole too, but only because the entire multiverse hates me for removing the copies and clutter- for every copy I destroy there are two more made! But no- you don’t do anything even bother! Without me, you wouldn’t even be able to get around the multiverse like you can! You wouldn’t be able to find one timeline or even AU out of the trillions that would be around without me- what do you have to say about that huh?!” Error growled out, clearly pissed off and angry

“Error. Quit it. He’s not worth it. He’s soulless and doesn’t feel remorse for anything, and from what I can tell, he doesn’t keep a guilt vial on him. Let’s just get you back so I can move on to the others that need my help.” Nightmare spoke, coming out from the shadows of the trees.

Error started a ramble on why he shouldn’t stop but was shortly cut off by him being poked, which took him off guard and made him jump back, eyes covered in error signs but not rebooting. Nightmare looked back over to Ink, giving a silent ‘go on’ with his eyes.

-----

After securing Error back at the mansion with Killer watching over him and keeping him company-to ensure he didn’t try and go after Ink again- Nightmare moved on, heading off to another AU that had gone astray from positivity.

He landed in a quiet snowdin, bloody snow and occasional Dust around, no wonder it started to grow in negativity. Just as quickly as he got there, he moved into the shadows of the trees, not wanting to be spotted by anyone just in case this AU wasn’t deserted like Killer’s- which it seemed like it wasn’t.

True, walking through the trees was harder, but he couldn’t be spotted in the tall shadows that the forest was consumed by, so it was a win in his book.

However, not long after he started walking, he came upon the person he was looking for, the resident sans of this seemingly murderous AU. Like any other, this one wore a blue hoodie and black shorts, however, he also wore a shabby and pail shirt with it all, giving him an almost hobo-like look.

The sans sat asleep in his shack of a watch post hoodie over his skull and face. A foul and dead smell came from the hut the closer Nightmare grew closer to the sans, as well as the strong smell of dust and blood which the skeleton and shack were also covered in. Nightmare wrinkled his nose in distaste, he should’ve gone here first.

Hesitantly, he nudged the sleeping skeleton awake, to which the sans raised an axe above his head and jumped back in reply, clearly not expecting to be woken up. This action made his hood fall off as well, showing off the large hole in the side of his skull and his singular red pupil. Neither being healthy or normal for skeletons.

“Calm down,” Nightmare tried, to which the skeleton did none of the sort, only glaring at him in response. The king sighed, “I’m here to help you if you’ll believe that.” He tried again, hoping that he wouldn’t be losing his head today.

The sans nodded hesitantly but didn’t let go of his axe, instead deciding to keep it in his grip but lower it to in front of his body. Nightmare nodded back, accepting the silent language this sans used. The sans simple nod meaning ok, I’m willing to listen, while Nightmare’s said thank you.

“I can give you a home, care, and help if you join me, I wish to help you from the situation your in so you can help me. I’m Nightmare, a guardian of negativity, and you can help me spread and keep its balance with positivity. If I help you, I can help other AUs and sans’ that are having tough times, so they can be happy too.

“I’m just here to keep balance, I promise not to hurt you. I have already helped two others, and they are waiting back at my mansion, where I have plenty of space. Will you join me?” Nightmare asked, almost repeating the speil that he had given Killer, Error, and Ink earlier that day.

“Only if I can bring my brother. If you’re going to help me, you have to help him too. He deserves it more than me anyway.” The skeleton’s gruff voice responded, almost like he was dehydrated. That totally wasn't worrying.

“Alright, can you grab him or bring him here? Also, you will come to find that you’re not the only sans in this world, do you have a name I could call you?”

“I’ll call him, and I guess… Horror? I’m not good with comin’ up with names.” Horror responded as he called up his brother, to which a papyrus rushed towards them.

This Papyrus didn’t look too healthy either, his teeth were chipped and a few were even missing, his eyes were small and seemed like they struggled to see- squinting at any point of light. He stood hunched over, struggled to even walk and limping. His clothes were like any other Papyrus, but they were heavily worn and slightly stained with blood, his scarf tattered like it had taken a literal beating.

Nightmare should’ve definitely come here first.

“Brother!” The Papyrus’ screechy and also seemingly parched throat called out as he stumbled over, stopping next to Horror, his back hunched over so much that he was barely a foot taller than his brother- when he should’ve been several feet taller. “Nyeh? Who’s this sans?”

“He’s here to help us,” Horror started, then turned back towards Nightmare, “You can call my bro here Scream if you want, or just Paps, but- we’re ready to go when you are. We don’t have much down here.”

Nightmare nodded, opening a portal for his new companions' Scream and Horror, he hoped deep inside that he could give them all the help they need- they probably had a lot of issues. It seemed like Scream needs glasses as well as some help with his back, and both of them were malnourished.

Three down, One extra, One lost, Two to go.

Another portal, a deserted land, checking everywhere, the judgment hall left, everything seemed to be repeating. The shimmering hall went dark again as he walked into it, a Sans at the end of the hall, this one different.

He was exactly like any other sans, in every way, expect in both eye lights gleamed red, with one having an extra ring of purple. His hood was pulled up, and he sat talking to himself, not even noticing Nightmare.

“You see someone? That’s a funny joke, bro.” The sans continued to talk- seemingly to himself, “There’s actually someone behind me?” The skeleton turned around, finally noticing Nightmare.

“Hello, young one.” Nightmare started but was cut off as he felt a knife go through his arm.

Dust had thrown a knife at him and it went right through the goop that covered his arm. It stung a bit, but he only looked at it and his now torn sleeve, before letting the goop cover his arm again, repairing the wound in seconds.

“Well, that’s one way to say hello. Now, do you want to hear what I have to say or not? You can’t effectively hurt me enough to kill me, and if I get bored of you constantly throwing knives at me- I can always go to the others that need my help.” Nightmare explained, not fazed at all by the wound he had seconds ago.

“What help?” The sans snapped, seemingly not able to control himself or being controlled by something else.

“You are on the brink of insanity my friend, and if you kill another monster, you will most likely become an amalgamate because of you unbalanced DT. There is a lot of help I can offer you. I can help you get rid of your insanity, I can help your excessive amounts of DT, and I can help you escape this place and underground. But, only if you help me.

“I’m Nightmare, a guardian of Negative emotions, and you just so happen to be part of that negativity I have been sworn to protect. I can give you a home, help, and care if you join me. I have helped four others and have plenty of room for another at my mansion.” The king offered, holding out his hand for the sans, to which the sans took it.

“What now-” The sans stopped himself, and then scowled, “No I won’t-... sorry nightmare. Paps is just being overprotective.” The sans explained; like he knew no one else could see his Papyrus- who was probably haunting him.

“It’s quite alright. Now, I’ll bring you back home- after I get a name, of course. Just keep in mind, sans won’t really work, you are one of the many out there. Even I am I version of sans.” Nightmare told the sans as he opened a portal to his mansion.

“... how about Dust?” Dust hesitantly asked after a long pause, seemingly saying a suggestion his papyrus had.

“That’ll work, now, go through the portal. You will meet four other’s that will be taking residence with you. Three of them are Sans’ as well, and another is a version of Papyrus. Tell them I’ll be joining you all soon.” Nightmare asked as he let Dust go to the portal.

Dust nodded in return, walking through the portal, content to be getting out of the underground and going somewhere new.

Nightmare sighed; Four down, One extra, One lost, One to go.

Going through one of his last portals of the day, he appeared in his second to last destination. He landed in a land of white, almost like the AntiVoid, but in reality, just a destroyer and barren Au- expect for one person.

An occasionally sniffling and hiccuping skeleton sat a block or so away from him, turned away from his direction, easily seen because of how empty the area was.

The skeleton looked overdressed, even from the back. From the back, you could see an overly fluffy hood, a long black and white scarf, and what looked to be X’s across his clothes and design. His body didn’t look mangled or hurt and was a healthy pearly white, that meant he was crying for a different reason than pain.

Or maybe… it wasn’t physical pain.

“Hey kid,” Nightmare called out, making the quiet hiccup the sans had sound loud and surprised rather than lonely and depressed. The skeleton turned around, showing his full design, X’s covering his black and white clothes like Nightmare predicted, but his eyes were a different story.

The sans’ eyesockets held one red pupil and another had a white one, a red almost lightning bolt scar underneath the red one. He was glitching as well, occasionally showing a young monochrome chara instead of the sans.

The skeleton quickly wiped away the tears he had and stood up, summoning a large knife like sword supposedly with magic, battle stance ready but tense; something that could easily be knocked down with a swipe at his leg.

“There’s no need for that, I’m not here to hurt you.” Nightmare said, stepping forward hesitantly, but after noticing the sans wasn’t advancing for an attack, started to walk instead. “Let’s sit down and talk, okay? You look like you need a friend; or a family.”

“Fine.” The sans spat, clearly trying to cover his previous crying with a cold indifferent facade.

“You don’t need to cover up emotions, feel free to let out whatever is building up, I should know better than anyone it helps to talk about it rather than let it build up.” Nightmare coaxed, but sighed when the sans let go of his facade, but then went for an emotionless attitude instead.

“Why should I care what you have to say you-”

“-Becuase it may help you in the long run.” The King cut off, not speaking anymore after that, waiting to see if the skeleton would try and speak again. Although, when the sans didn’t try to speak, he continued, “If you’re willing to join me, I can give you a home, care, help, and a family. I’m Nightmare and I’m the guardian of Negative emotions, although, as of late, I’ve been helping sans’ instead.

“I have helped five other’s today. The first went insane from resets, the second went insane from being left alone and hated, the third and fourth were stuck in an AU were everyone was starving, and the fifth was driven mad by their frisk’s constant path of genocide. They are all waiting back at my mansion, and I’m sure -If you let them- they would be happy to call you friend or family. Will you join-”

“-C! get away from him!” Ink interrupted, bolting over to where the two were sitting, ready to start attacking Nightmare, but was picked up by a tendril once again.

C stayed sitting and Nightmare got up and walked over to where he was holding Ink in place, glaring at the artist for interrupting his conversation.

Ink could’ve helped Killer with his insanity, could’ve talked through things with Error long ago, could’ve helped Horror or Scream with food, could’ve helped Dust so he wasn’t on the brink of melting with DT, could’ve made it so this C person next to him wasn’t alone and clearly broken. Ink could’ve literally done anything, but he didn’t help with any of the AUs and wouldn’t even accept help for himself, now it’s Nightmare’s turn to do something.

“I beg your pardon, Ink.” Nightmare menaced, voice gurgly and threatening, “I”m here to help this person you call ‘C’ and take him out of this insanity of a place so he can be happy- something that you’re clearly not helping with. You didn’t help the others- you won’t help yourself, so let me help them.” Nightmare finished, flicking Ink across the void when he finished. C wasn’t even concerned.

Nightmare took a deep breath to calm himself from the anger and then turned back to the still sitting skeleton he had been talking to. C didn’t seem fazed by the violent act that just happened in front of his eyes. Nightmare sat down with him again and took one of his hands.

“I’m terribly sorry I had to harm Ink in front of you, I’m not sure of it, but it seems he sees you as a friend.” Nightmare started, looking into C’s eyes, “Even though it may be pointless now, will you still join me and my… family?” Nightmare asked, expecting a no, but smiled when he got a nod instead; “Alright, follow me, C. We can head through this portal home.”

“It’s Cross,” Cross spoke softly as he got up with the now happy Nightmare, although, he didn’t know why he was happy. Ink had told him Nightmare was an emotionless and harmful being, that killed anything in his path. Ink must’ve lied about a lot of things.

Nightmare nodded to this new information, pulling Cross with him into the portal.

The truth was, he was happy because he saw himself in Cross. A young broken monster, let alone, most likely used and abandoned. Nightmare helped Cross because no one had ever helped him. He wouldn’t let the cycle repeat on another innocent monster.

“Nightmare, you’re back!” Killer smiled, along with everyone else in the room.

Everyone sat around in the large living he owned. Error was laying in a hammock he made attached to the ceiling, Killer sat in an armchair, Scream had fallen fast asleep on the couch with his head in Horror’s lap- who was petting scream’s head as he slept, Dust was in the armchair opposite of Killer- seemingly talking with him before Nightmare had arrived.

“Yes, I’m back, and I brought a friend along.” Cross shyly stepped to the side, clearly not ready to be meeting so many people at once, but he wasn’t alone.

Soon enough they were all getting along and learning about each other, Nightmare beamed, he had made this happen. He had helped them and now they wouldn’t be alone. Even the bad guys have to stick together.

-TOLD YOU IT WAS LONG-

Dream and Nightmare belong to @jokublog

Killer belongs to @rahafwabas

Error belongs to @loverofpiggies

Ink belongs to @comyet

Horrortale belongs to @sour-apple-studios

Dusttale belongs to @ask-dusttale

Xtale and Cross belong to @jakei95

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drkandraz · 6 years

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Why Hirohiko Araki Is a Great Writer

Note: add writing saying “I am only going to be addressing JoJo because 1) I have not read his older works, 2) His works before and including Phantom Blood lack what I am talking about here and 3) I include JoJo spin-off manga under the “JoJo” moniker”

As the man behind one of the most influential manga of all time, Hirohiko Araki is already a highly praised writer and artist. However, I believe what lies at the heart of Araki-sensei’s writing style is not explored often enough. What I think are the most important factors in the writing of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure are the extremes to which the author takes his creative freedom and his skill in writing relationships between people.

Phantom Blood is the most conventional part of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. It has a structure very similar to other shounen manga at the time: hero has a rivalry, rival becomes obscenely powerful, hero learns martial art to defeat rival, ally dies, other ally narrates, hero wins etc. Phantom Blood’s writing only succeeds in the outlandish concepts introduced throughout: vampires appearing as a consequence of mayan blood rituals with magical stone masks, vampires somehow sucking blood by introducing their fingers inside a human’s skin, the power of the sun channeled (or created) by breathing, medieval warrior zombies, people being cleft in half by chains… frog punching. What also comes out here is a hint of the strategic battles the series will come to be known for, with Dio’s defeat at the hands of a burning sword.

A lot of the quality of the writing comes in the relationship between Jonathan and Dio, two characters who could not be more polar opposites who supposedly die together. While Jonathan is a typical nice guy shounen protagonist, Dio is a somewhat complex villain; he is irredeemably evil, but not unjustifiably so.

The decision to change protagonists was in itself an unheard of prospect at the time, each part bringing its own atmosphere and self-contained storyline, facts which allow Araki-sensei to explore all of them at length.

In comparison, Battle Tendency goes completely off the rails. If Phantom Blood is a cautious dip into the water, then Battle Tendency is a cannonball jump right into the deep end. This is where JoJo starts going from typical shounen manga to a manga characterized by battles of wits and skill rather than of pure brawn; and this change is reflected in its protagonist. Where Jonathan was the perfect gentleman who would never face his enemy anything less than head-on, Joseph likes to screw with his opponents’ heads. To show this change in character, his first major fight is against an enemy comparable to Dio, who is taken out a lot more easily thanks to Joseph’s fighting style. The insanity present in Phantom Blood is taken up to 11: the vampires are mere distractions to the new Pillar Men, Nazis are turned into Cyborgs and Hamon now apparently works on bubbles.

The relationship built between Joseph and Caesar is perhaps the most natural growth displayed in the series until this point. Their friendship grows gradually and culminates not with perfect teamwork, but with a realistic ideological fight between the two, one that Joseph would come to regret for many years to come. Caesar’s death is one of the most natural and powerful scenes in manga history, from the desperate dedication he displays even in his final moments, to Wamuu’s respect for him and to Joseph’s desperate cry for his best friend.

Stardust Crusaders is the start of Araki-sensei’s complete creative control. Stands now allow him to explore any fun and interesting idea he has in battles and to make stands that fit with their characters. The change of the format from single story to monster of the week supports the author’s writing style of throwing ideas at the wall and expanding them to his heart’s content. However, the clunkiness of his inexperience with such creative control is obvious. He is obviously pressured to come up with cool designs and powers for the stands (some of which he will later forget). In the second half of Part 3, getting used to the concept of stands, he starts writing interesting and fun ideas for his battles, like the D’Arby Brothers and Vanilla Ice. The insanity is punctuated by the increasing number of musical references (from Captain Tennille to Oingo Boingo).

Sadly, the characters take a backseat for the duration of this Part. Except for certain minor moments between the Crusaders, the characters don’t really have arcs (except for perhaps Iggy and Polnareff). For this reason, Jotaro, Kakyoin and Avdol are often criticized for having little to no character, which is a fair point. Jotaro himself is more of a superpowered version of the most barebone characteristics of Sherlock Holmes.

Dio’s return recontextualizes Part One as a tragedy rather than a story of sacrifice for the greater good, as well as making Part Three more of a culmination of generations of fighting rather than another story about saving the world. Jotaro vs Dio is still one of the best battles in shounen history because of the weight behind every single action the characters take feeling like the climax of the story.

Diamond is Unbreakable, in contrast to its predecessor, is not in the least an epic story about cleansing evil. It is, for the most Part, a slice of life. Therefore, its stand users have abilities more suited to everyday life (Bad Company notwithstanding), or rather their own special needs. The town of Morioh truly feels like a real (albeit bizarre) place, with a community comprised of people with their own personal goals. The advantage of Part 4 in Araki-sensei’s writing style consists of the fact that the author is no longer chained by the needs of the lengthy story structure that plagued Part 3. He himself pointed out in an interview that he could always go back to continue Part 4 if he wanted to (I could not find the interview again, sorry. If you can find it or correct me, it would be most appreciated).

The character’s relationships in DiU are quite evidently better defined than in Part 3. The main crew of Part 4 is smaller and it never feels restrained to keep everyone around at every point in the story (like Part 3 was somewhat forced to). In this way, characterization and character relationships are better crafted within stories that emphasize only those characters and relationships. Jousuke is never forced to be the main character of an episode; rather, he only is when the story demands it, making for a much better experience. Of note are Koichi, whose growth is signaled within his stand’s abilities, Rohan, whose growth is exhibited throughout the series and within his spin-off series, Joseph, whose appearance is bittersweet to old fans, as the sneaky and crafty Joseph becomes senile and unable to do anything worthwhile and Kira, whose chillingly normal demeanor doesn’t betray his dark tendencies.

After Part 4’s gleeful atmosphere, Part 5 dives right back into the horror-inspired roots of JoJo. Giorno Giovanna, Dio’s son, is a far more dark and cunning figure than Jousuke. Indeed, Giorno and the rebellious cell of Passione he becomes part of are a reflexion of past characters painted in a new, more sinister light, fitting with the new Mafia theme. They are a family, led by Bruno Bucciarati just as the Part 4 gang was led by Jotaro, but because of their jobs, they live in a world almost completely devoid of the fun antics of DiU. However, their relationships are just as well developed: Abbachio and Giorno’s one-sided rivalry is resolved organically, Bucciarati and Giorno’s hatred of immorality is what binds them together and Fugo’s “betrayal” is completely in character for him etc. As a villain, Diavolo is well written insofar as we recognize that his main attribute is his megalomania and his relationship with Doppio is magnificently fucked up in the best way possible.

The fights in Part 5 are brutal bouts for survival. The enemy stand users are trained assassins who will stop at nothing to get their revenge on The Boss. What makes this change even more effective is their motive for chasing the gang, the murder of their “family members” at the hands of Diavolo. Therefore, each ability is more valuable than each of the ones in Stardust Crusaders, since there are just a lot less of them. Each stand is that much more developed and consistent in its use (with the exception of King Crimson, but I’m not going on that rant right now) On the other hand, the concepts introduced for them are just that much more insane: a turtle in which one can enter by putting a key in a hole in its back, a stand that dehydrates everything at long range, a stand that can put zippers on anything etc.

Part 6 is a much more plot focused arc. The whole part focuses on Jolyne’s search for her father’s memory and stand discs with the help of Stone Ocean’s gang of reluctant helpers. This gang feels less like a pseudo-family, more like a bunch of people chasing their own goals and helping each other along the way. This, by the end of the story, is what will bring their demise at the hands of Pucci, Dio’s best friend. Despite this, I can’t say they are not well-written characters. Foo Fighters’, Weather Report’s and Pucci’s characters and arcs particularly are very compelling.

Within this story driven part, the villain of the week format just does not fit anymore. This is why, despite their great ideas and executions, a lot of villains from Stone Ocean are made forgettable especially by the ending, which left almost no hope for a direct continuation to be made. In many ways, it can be said that one of Araki-sensei’s strong points eclipsed the other one completely. The creative freedom which used to be a leading factor in why the series was so great was now taken to too many extremes (Looking at you, Heavy Weather and Bohemian Rhapsody) which detracted from the story more than they added.

On the other hand, the reboot Part 7 brought was exactly what JoJo needed, in my opinion. Now that stands had been grounded as more akin to abilities than the ghosts they were originally, there was no need to keep them as anything more than representations of the user’s skills. The bizarre nature of JoJo was also given almost complete freedom with the abolishment of continuity and concepts like stand arrows. Instead, Araki-sensei introduces pseudo-scientific and pseudo-philosophical concepts that fit in perfectly with JoJo. To explain the level of insanity, I will summarize the premise of SBR in one sentence: two men, one crippled and the other with the power of ball hamon, compete in a cross-country horse race in 1880s USA, while fighting dinosaurs and the president using powers granted by Jesus Christ. While the stand battles in the middle section are almost as forgettable as Part 6’s, it matters less because the most important aspect is the development of our two main characters.

The characterization in Part 7 is the best it’s ever been in JoJo. Johnny’s hopeful nihilism contrasts perfectly with Gyro’s playful jackassery. The main cast – now smaller than any that came before it – only consists of two characters (if we don’t include the very well written reccuring side characters). Every character gives a feeling of having their own agenda, while also each contributing to one side of the battle between Johnny and Gyro and President Valentine. Interestingly, Funny Valentine is probably right from an ideological stand point, which is an unexpected turn out from a mostly childish manga up to this point.

Part 8 brings Steel Ball Run’s ideological musings into the 21st century with a return to Morioh. Araki’s style has retained its mature edge, but shifted them into science-fiction territory. The characters retain the moral ambiguity found in Part 7. Jousuke would do anything for Yasuho, even torture somebody. Yet the familial aspect that had long been missing from JoJo returned in full force with the Higashikatas and their rival pseudo-family, the divided Rock Humans. This makes Joubin a perfect antagonist despite his seemingly underpowered ability.

The bizarre atmosphere of JoJo’s fourth part returns with the Shakedown Road and the Milagro Man arcs which have almost nothing to do with the overarching plot of the series, but enhance the sense of a world existing beyond the characters. The battles in JoJolion are realistic and brutal to the extent not even Vento Aureo was willing to go, despite the relative bizarreness of the enemies’ stands.

This is how Hirohiko Araki’s writing style changed over the years from simple and restrained to bold, philosophical, dark and bizarre. The overall mundanity of Hamon was slowly replaced by stands and other special abilities, allowing the author to indulge in outlandish ideas that complimented the intelligent, consistent and thoughtful structure of his battles. To conclude, I believe Hirohiko Araki is a great writer because of the balance between his strange, out there ideas and his calm and logical understanding of his concepts (with a few exceptions), combined with his ability for writing strong and believable arcs and relationships for characters.

Edit: If you want more details about the first four parts of JoJo, I wholeheartedly recommend Super Eyepatch Wolf’s videos on the subject, as he can go into much more detail in those.

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ultimateoptimus · 6 years

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The Mertens-Bonnibel Twins in Detail

Lucián Liberátusz Mertens-Bonnibel

Royal Name: Korvin Uriel Lucián Liberátusz Mertens-Bonnibel Ultimate Name: Lucián Judiciusz Founders Island ID: MB01 Race: Human/Bubblegum Hybrid Class: Unique, Relic Knight, HUhr, Demon Summoner, Tank/Scrapper Alignment: Lawful Good Legacy Weapon: MertensCaliburn Arcana: XX. Judgement Persona: Ambriel (Initial), Messiah Finn (Ultimate), Maria Bubblegum (Ultimate), Minerva Campbell (Ancestral) Voice Actor: US: Yuri Lowenthal (Ben Tennyson in Ben 10, "Leader" in Persona 3), JP: Akira Ishida ("Leader" in Persona 3)

Fighting: MN(63) Agility: AM(46) Strength: MN(63) Endurance: MN(63) Reason: AM(46) Intuition: AM(46) Psyche: MN(63)

Powers: Morphing (Armor Skin + Martial Supremacy): Knight Forme: MN(63) Morphing (Armor Skin + Martial Supremacy): Gemini-Hero Forme: MN(63) Alter Ego: AM(46) Healing: AM(46) Life Support: AM(46) Light Manipulation: AM(46) Resistance to Magical Attacks: AM(46) Demon Summoning (COMP): MN(63) Demon Summoning (Card Wars): MN(63) Persona Arts: MN(63) Cometamancy (Comet Esper): MN(63) Sanctumancy (Holy Esper): MN(63) Dulcimancy (Candy Esper): MN(63) Half-Bubblegum Physiology: MN(63) Ultimate Skill: UN(88)

Talents: Religion (Church of Messiah) Law Military (Holy Comet Royal Army, House Mertens-Bonnibel Royal Guard) Genetics (X-Gene, Prime Code DNA) Occult Lore (Esper Arts, Persona Arts, Digital Demonology) Leadership Martial Arts Edged Weapons (MertensCaliburn) Weapons Master (MertensCaliburn, Lucián Relic)

Contacts: Family (King Finnian and Queen Bubblegum Mertens-Bonnibel, Minerva Campbell) Religion (Church of Messiah) Genetics Military (Holy Comet Royal Army, House Mertens-Bonnibel Royal Guard, Founders Island Helper Corps)

Occupation: Gemini Bishop-Prince

Limitations: Messiah Syndrome

Genetic Makeup: Lucián, like his twin sister Longina, is a half-human, half-bubblegum teenager, a high school boy who has his father's golden blonde hair and his mother's bubblegum pink skin. Heterochromic, his left hair color is golden blonde and his right bubblegum pink, his left eye color sapphire blue and his right bubblegum pink. In Adventurer Forme, Lucián wears his customized ARKS Blazer M school uniform (because even royal twins need to go to school), jacket base colored sapphire blue with interchanged pink and blue trims and blue-pink colored checkers, his necktie colored in blue and pink checkers, pinned with an ACA star pin and emblazoned with the Sapphire Catalyst Comet icon, adorned with his Royal Griffin crest, has the CN logo sewed and his name printed on it, his trousers colored in stripes and trim of blue and pink and black school shoes with blue and pink trims. Like his father Finn, Lucián wears a green ARKS backpack styled after his father's, but with advanced miniaturization and magclip techs built in. Being of deep religious nature like his twin sister, he wears a necklace bearing the Icon of the Messiah around his neck.

When Summertime comes, Lucián's Adventurer Forme transforms into Summer Pattern: a short-sleeved blazer jacket colored snow white with blue trims and blue-pink checkers with a light blue/deep pink colored inner shirt with a light blue necktie bearing the Mertens heraldry and held by a golden cross medallion with chains, has the CN logo sewed and his name and his Helper icon printed on it, adorned with his Royal Griffin crest, his trousers colored in checkers of white, light and sapphire blue lines and black twin-strapped boots.

Longina Tsukimiya Mertens-Bonnibel

Royal Name: Korvin Gabriel Longina Tsukimiya Mertens-Bonnibel Ultimate Name: Longina Judicia Founders Island ID: MB02 Race: Human/Bubblegum Hybrid Class: Unique, Relic Knight, HUhrl, Demon Summoner, Tank/Scrapper Alignment: Lawful Good Legacy Weapon: BonnibelHammer Arcana: XX. Judgement Persona: Ambriel (Initial), Messiah Finn (Ultimate), Maria Bubblegum (Ultimate), Minerva Campbell (Ancestral) Voice Actress: US: Angie Beers (Arika Yumemiya in Mai-Otome), JP: Mika Kikuchi (Ditto)

Fighting: MN(63) Agility: AM(46) Strength: MN(63) Endurance: MN(63) Reason: AM(46) Intuition: AM(46) Psyche: MN(63)

Talents: Religion (Church of Messiah) Law Military (Holy Comet Royal Army, House Mertens-Bonnibel Royal Guard) Genetics (X-Gene, Prime Code DNA) Occult Lore (Esper Arts, Persona Arts, Digital Demonology) Leadership Martial Arts Blunt Weapons (BonnibelHammer) Weapons Master (BonnibelHammer, NanoPapillion Wings, Longina Relic)

Occupation: Gemini Bishop-Princess

Limitations: Messiah Syndrome

Genetic Makeup: Longina, like her twin brother Lucián, is a half-human, half-bubblegum teenager, a high school girl who has her mother's long pink bubblegum hair in a princess cut style and her father's fair human skin. Heterochromic, her left hair color is bubblegum pink and her right golden blonde, her left eye color bubblegum pink and her right sapphire blue. In Adventurer Forme, Longina wears her customized ARKS Blazer F school uniform (because even royal twins need to go to school), jacket base colored bubblegum pink with interchanged blue and pink trims and blue-pink colored checkers, her necktie colored in blue and pink checkers and emblazoned with the Sapphire Catalyst Comet icon, adorned with her Royal Butterfly crest, has the CN logo sewed and her name printed on it, her frilled skirt colored in blue and pink, pantyhose colored in stripes and trim of blue and pink and long frilled school boots with blue and pink trims, completing the set with a cute and futuristic pink tech-headband. Being of deep religious nature like her twin brother, she wears a necklace bearing the Icon of the Angelic Ice Cream around her neck.

When Summertime comes, Longina's Adventurer Forme transforms into Summer Pattern: a sleeveless sailor collar blazer jacket colored snow white with pink trims and blue-pink checkers with a deep pink/light blue colored inner shirt, has the CN logo sewed and her name and his Helper icon printed on it, adorned with her Royal Butterfly crest, her skirt colored in checkers of white, hot and deep pink lines, pink-blue kneesocks and black twin-strapped shoes.

The Mertens-Bonnibel Twins

Origin:

Biology: Legacy, Biology: Mutant

Being miraculously born of the living womb of Princess Bubblegum, the genetic makeup and powers of Lucián and Longina are an inherited legacy, natural to the ancestral line of their royal family.

Lucián and Longina are mutants and were born with these abilities and their half-human/half-bubblegum looks. The Twins grew up with their holy powers, their genetic birthright.

Complication:

Super Family

From birth, Lucian and Longina have just discovered that each other have superpowers. They have revealed that they and their parents know their secret. Both know they are Supers as well. They have sworn an Oath they will follow the heroic path to the last drop of their hybrid blood, lest they stray from the way and forfeit their selves to their Shadow Selves and their souls to the Devil. Even Mother and Father were young once.

Motivation:

Religion, Revelation, Role Models, Family

Being true brother and sister of the Church of Messiah and Mount Celestia, Lucián and Longina believe they must use their powers for Law and Good. There might be bad consequences for them if they don't - such as a permanent stay in Baator.

The Twins have stigmatic religious visions. In them, they saw Evil become powerful because it was left unopposed... and by the Supreme Deity, Messiah and all the Angelic Hosts of Mount Celestia, the Twins are NOT going to let that happen!

The Twins believe they are not just super crime fighters... they are Heroes and role models for the cause of Law and Good.

The Mertens-Bonnibel Twins are the miracle children of Finn and Bubblegum born of man and mutant and as such fight for the future of the Universe in the name of their family... and woe unto the villain that even dream about laying so much as a finger on House Mertens-Bonnibel so much as a strand of hair.

Faction: House Mertens-Bonnibel Religion: Church of Messiah (Lawful Good) Patron Deity: Arisato Minato, the Boy-Messiah (Lawful Good) Homeworld: Earth (Holy Terra), Solsys Totem: Finn and Bubblegum's Wedding Picture

Birthday: June 2, 299X Zodiac: Gemini - The Twins

Fun Facts: If the Mertens-Bonnibel Twins were Marvel Super Heroes, who will that be? Cyclops (Lucián) and Jean Grey (Longina) for their Mutant Origin and their X-Men side of attitude. Black Bolt (Lucián) and Medusa (Longina) for their Royal Inhuman side of attitude. After all, they're part X-Men, part Inhumans, all Super.

Who do the Mertens-Bonnibel Twins don Costumes as in Halloween? Father David Crowe, Magic Priest (Lucián) and Sister Shannon Masters, Warrior Nun Areala (Longina). Religious costumes for religious high schoolers.

What collectible card game (CCG) do the Mertens-Bonnibel Twins play and love the most? The Eye of Judgment for PlayStation 3.

What are their genderbent selves' names? Lucia and Longinusz.

Personality Profile: The Mertens-Bonnibel Twins, Firstborn and eldest children born of the bloodline of King Finnian Mertens and Queen Bonnibel Bubblegum, are noble yet humble, chivalrous yet mischievous, Lawful yet playful Relic Knights and born Master Card Wars Duelists and Video Game Masters, having these traits from both their parents along with their Persona, Relic Knight Comet and Candy Esper birthright superpowers and the infinite potential they possess hardcoded in their very Human/Bubblegum DNA as part of the package.

Seeing the world through stained glass eyes, Lucián and Longina are Renaissance children who are both Royal Inhuman and Mutant, born with true religious faith in Messiah shared with each other - true faith like the Western Church of the First Dark Age in human history - and as a true brother and sister in Messiah, they pray, sing and give praise to Him feverishly, honor the dearly departed, friend, family, Hero and Saint alike, and their memory in Halloween such as the Raven King of Hungary, Mátyás Hunyadi and remember and give praise to the blue-haired schoolchild - Arisato Minato, some say his name was - who embodied Messiah and saved Mankind from The Fall, from extinction at the hands of Death, long, long ago in the Age of Man in Halloween and Christmas.

Thanks to their religious behavior, Lucián and Longina are beautiful choir singers (with a little youthful heavy metal energy juiced in) who sing holy church music with such Mount Celestian beauty, even the darkest Archdevils fall silent and bow down in heavenly reverence and the most tortured souls, be they from Fiend-possessed chained to the black whims of their Devil masters to screaming psycho with minds shattered like stained glass, are purified and absolved of the blackest sin from their blessed voice. Likewise, the sheer beauty of church music, especially in weddings and funerals, move the Twins to blessed candy tears and into prayer. What makes Lucián and Longina cry the happiest tears of joy and hope is the holy wedding picture of Father and Mother, Finn Mertens and Bonnibel Bubblegum, looking so Mount Celestian in their wedding dresses and so genuinely, divinely... happy.

If the Mertens-Bonnibel Twins have a mental malfunction, let's just say they're suffering from an overzealous little case of what heroes like them call the Messiah Syndrome... all the best heroes have it. One needs only look into the year 40,000 to see what they mean by that: Dark Ages holy warfare meets 30th Century military technology. And yes, the Twins are all-too-well aware they are not as invincible as many a foolish King and Queen before them and are not afraid to let their people know about it.

The Messiah Syndrome. The cross the Mertens-Bonnibel Twins have to bear. Just as Arisato Minato before them suffered, bled every last drop of his blood and gave his life to deliver all of Mankind Salvation from extinction, so must Lucián and Longina prepare to shed every last drop of their Human/Bubblegum blood for the Salvation of all Life for future generations... even if all Life needs no saving. A becoming stigma for their religious background.

@ppgxrrblove @fubblegummers @jasffaa

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